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IOWA  BIOGRAPHICAL  SERIES 

EDITED    BY    BENJAMIN    F.    SHAMBAUGH 


SAMUEL   JORDAN   KIRKWOOD 


:.\M  I'Kl.    .1  .     K  IRKWOOD 


IOWA    BIOGRAPHICAL    SERIES 

EDITED    BY    BENJAMIN    F.     SHAMBAUGH 


SAMUEUfiRPM  .jyi 


BY 

ERT    CLARK 


THE  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  OF  IOWA 
IOWA    CITY    IOWA    1917 


SAMTKL  .1.   KIRK  WOOD 


IOWA     BIOGRAPHICAL     SERIES 

EDITED    BY    BENJAMIN    F.     SHAMBAUGH 


SAMUEL  JORDAN  KIRKWOOD 

BY 
DAN    ELBERT     CLARK 


THE  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  OF  IOWA 

IOWA    CITY    IOWA    1917 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD  is  one  of  the  out 
standing  figures  in  the  political  history  of 
Iowa.  Familiarly  called  the  "War  Gov 
ernor",  his  name  is  perhaps  more  widely 
known  than  that  of  any  other  man  in  the 
annals  of  this  Commonwealth.  He  was  a 
pioneer,  a  westerner,  a  man  of  common 
sense  and  of  decision.  In  his  life  and  ideas 
he  typifies  much  that  is  characteristic  of  the 
pioneer  period  in  the  history  of  Iowa. 

BENJ.  F.  SHAMBAUGH 

OFFICE  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  AND  EDITOR 

THE  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  OF  IOWA 

IOWA  CITY  IOWA 


3G5G97 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

THE  life  of  Samuel  Jordan  Kirkwood  is  a  part 
of  the  history  of  three  Commonwealths.  His 
boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  in  Maryland. 
In  Ohio  from  1835  to  1855  he  practiced  law, 
became  prosecuting  attorney  of  Richland  Coun 
ty,  and  served  in  the  convention  which  revised 
the  State  Constitution.  Coming  to  Iowa  at  a 
time  of  great  political  upheaval,  he  was  soon 
elected  State  Senator,  and  in  1860  was  elevated 
to  the  position  of  Chief  Executive.  Subse 
quently  he  was  United  States  Senator  and 
Secretary  of  the  Interior.  But  it  is  his  service 
as  the  "War  Governor"  of  Iowa  from  1860  to 
1864  that  gives  his  name  an  assured  place  on 
the  honor  roll  of  the  State  and  Nation. 

In  the  pages  which  follow  an  attempt  has 
been  made  to  tell  the  story  of  Governor  Kirk- 
wood's  life  as  far  as  possible  by  the  use  of  his 
own  letters  and  papers  and  those  of  his  contem 
poraries.  Hence  the  frequent  quotations.  This 
plan  has  been  made  possible  by  the  great  abun 
dance  of  material.  In  fact,  the  problem  with 
regard  to  sources  was  largely  one  of  selection. 


x  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

The  manuscript  sources  are  voluminous. 
Seven  large  Military  Letter-Books  for  the  Civil 
War  period  and  three  letter-books  for  the  time 
when  Kirkwood  was  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
are  in  the  possession  of  The  State  Historical 
Society  of  Iowa  at  Iowa  City.  In  the  Historical 
Department  at  DCS  Moines  there  is  a  large  col 
lection  of  letters  written  to  Kirkwood,  covering 
the  period  between  1850  and  1890.  The  Public 
Archives  at  Des  Moines  likewise  contain  a  great 
mass  of  material  bearing  on  his  administrations 
as  Governor.  The  printed  sources  are  no  less 
plentiful,  as  is  indicated  in  the  Notes  and  Ref 
erences  at  the  close  of  the  volume.  It  was  of 
interest  to  the  writer  that  most  of  the  printed 
sources  which  he  used  were  copies  of  books  and 
pamphlets  donated  to  The  State  Historical  So 
ciety  of  Iowa  by  Mr.  Kirkwood  and  bearing  his 
name. 

Special  mention  should  be  made  of  The  Life 
and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  by  Mr. 
Henry  W.  Lathrop,  published  in  1893.  The 
manuscript  of  this  volume  was  read  and  ap 
proved  by  Mr.  Kirkwood  before  it  was  sent  to 
the  printer.  Mr.  Lathrop 's  work  was  therefore 
of  no  little  assistance  to  the  writer. 

Among  the  persons  to  whom  the  writer  is 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  xi 

indebted  for  help  and  information,  his  gratitude 
is  first  of  all  due  to  Mrs.  Kirkwood,  who  is  still 
living  in  the  old  home  at  Iowa  City.  Although 
nearly  one  hundred  years  of  age  her  memory  is 
remarkably  keen  and  trustworthy.  She  gener 
ously  placed  valuable  materials  at  the  writer's 
disposal  and  furnished  much  personal  informa 
tion  concerning  her  husband  elsewhere  un 
available. 

The  writing  of  this  volume  was  suggested  by 
the  editor  of  the  series,  Dr.  Benj.  F.  Sham- 
baugh.  To  him  the  writer  is  under  obligation, 
not  only  for  his  careful  editing  of  the  manu 
script,  but  also  for  advice  and  encouragement 
throughout  the  preparation  of  the  book.  Miss 
Ruth  Gallaher  of  the  staff  of  The  State  His 
torical  Society  assisted  in  verifying  the  manu 
script.  Acknowledgments  are  due  to  Mr.  Edgar 
R.  Harlan,  Curator  of  the  Historical  Depart 
ment  of  Iowa,  for  facilitating  the  writer's  re 
searches  in  the  materials  at  Des  Moines. 

DAN  ELBERT  CLARK 

THE  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  OF  IOWA 
IOWA  CITY  IOWA 


CONTENTS 


I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 


BOYHOOD  AND  YOUTH  IN  MARYLAND 

AND  WASHINGTON  CITY     ....       1 
WESTWARD   OVER   THE    CUMBERLAND 

ROAD 11 

FIRST  YEARS  IN  HIGHLAND  COUNTY     .     19 
MEMBER  OF  THE  MANSFIELD  BAR    .     .     32 
THE  OHIO  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVEN 
TION  AT  COLUMBUS 47 

CONSTITUTION-MAKING  IN  CINCINNATI     65 

REMOVAL  TO  IOWA 75 

MILLER  AND  FARMER 81 

THE  SIXTH  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  .  .  90 
IN  THE  SENATE  AT  THE  NEW  SEAT 

OF  GOVERNMENT 100 

DIRECTOR  OF  THE  STATE  BANK  OF  IOWA  116 
KIRK  WOOD  AGAINST  DODGE  .  .  .  .123 

FIRST  INAUGURAL 144 

GOVERNOR  DURING  A  YEAR  OF  PEACE  155 

THE  CRISIS 173 

MEN  AND  ARMS 181 

A  WAR-TIME  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGN  .  195 
THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR  .  .  .  206 
MESSAGE  AND  INAUGURAL  OF  1862  .  220 


XIV 


CONTENTS 


XX.     THE  GOVERNOR  AND  HIS  SOLDIERS    .     .  230 
XXL     THE   ALTOOXA    MEETING    OF    LOYAL 

GOVERNORS 247 

XXII.     BORDER  DEFENSE 253 

XXIII.  FIRE  IN  THE  HEAR 262 

XXIV.  POLITICS  AND  PROSPECTS 279 

XXV.     THE  LIFE  OF  A  WAR  GOVERNOR  ...  292 

XXVI.     A  SHORT  TERM  AS  SENATOR   ....  301 

XXVII.     LAWYER  AND  RAILROAD  PRESIDENT      .  318 

XXVIII.     GOVERNOR  AGAINST  HIS  WILL     ...  328 

XXIX.     SENATOR  IN  HIS  OWN  RIGHT  ....  341 

XXX.     SECRETARY  OF  THE  INTERIOR      .     .     .  359 

XXXI.     LAST  PARTICIPATION  IN  POLITICS    .     .  371 

XXXII.     THE  CLOSING  YEARS 379 

NOTES  AND  REFERENCES 391 

INDEX  .  449 


BOYHOOD  AND  YOUTH  IN  MAKYLAND  AND 
WASHINGTON  CITY 

THE  War  of  1812  was  at  its  height  when  on 
December  20,  1813,  there  was  born  on  a  Mary 
land  farm  in  the  county  of  Harford  a  boy  to 
whom  was  given  the  name  of  Samuel  Jordan 
Kirkwood.  Harford  County,  lying  to  the  north 
west  of  the  head  of  Chesapeake  Bay  and  west  of 
the  Susquehanna  River  and  bordering  on  the 
Pennsylvania  line,  was  not  so  far  from  scenes 
of  hostility  as  to  leave  the  inhabitants  long  in 
undisturbed  peace  of  mind.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  in  the  spring  of  1813  Havre  de  Grace,  the 
principal  coast  town  of  the  county,  was  the  ob 
ject  of  attack  by  British  ships;  while  the  late 
summer  of  the  following  year  witnessed  the 
destructive  raid  of  the  English  through  Balti 
more  to  Washington  City,  not  far  to  the  south 
ward. 

The  name  Kirkwood  was  not  unknown  along 
the  coast.  Samuel's  ancestors  had  come  to  this 
country  in  1731  from  Londonderry  in  the 
northern  part  of  Ireland,1  and  found  for  them 
selves  a  home  in  New  Castle,  Delaware.2  Here 

2  1 


SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

tlie  family  was  living  when  the  Revolutionary 
War  broke  out,  and  one  Robert  Kirkwood3  en 
listed  and  became  a  captain  in  the  only  regi 
ment  of  troops  furnished  by  Delaware.  "The 
remnant  of  that  corps,  less  than  two  companies, 
from  the  battle  of  Camden,  was  commanded  by 
captain  Kirkwood,  who  passed  through  the  war 
with  high  reputation;  and  yet  as  the  line  of 
Delaware  consisted  but  of  one  regiment,  and 
that  regiment  was  reduced  to  a  captain's  com 
mand,  Kirkwood  never  could  be  promoted  in 
regular  routine.  .  .  .  Kirkwood  retired, 
upon  peace,  a  captain;  and  when  the  army 
under  St.  Clair  was  raised  to  defend  the  West 
from  the  Indian  enemy,  this  veteran  resumed 
his  sword  as  the  eldest  captain  of  the  oldest 
regiment."  In  the  memorable  defeat  of  St. 
Glair's  army  on  November  4,  1791,  Robert 
Kirkwood  fell  bravely  fighting  to  avert  what  he 
must  have  known  to  be  an  inevitable  disaster.4 
Another  Robert  Kirkwood,5  the  grandfather 
of  Samuel,  apparently  became  a  well-to-do 
land  owner,  for  he  was  able  to  start  each  of  his 
five  sons  out  in  life  with  a  goodly  farm.  To 
Jabez,  the  youngest  son,  born  in  1776,  he  gave 
the  quarter  section  of  land  in  Ilarford  County, 
Maryland,  which  was  Samuel's  birthplace. 
Jabez  Kirkwood 's  first  wife  was  Mary  Coulson  ; 
and  to  them  \vere  born  two  sons,  Robert  and 
Coulson.  But  she  died  before  manv  vcars,  and 


BOYHOOD  AND  YOUTH  3 

Jabez  later  married  a  widow  named  Wallace  - 
a  Scotch  woman  whose  husband,  a  sea  captain, 
had  one  day  sailed  for  England  and  had  never 
more  been  heard  from.  The  children  of  this 
union  were  three  sons,  John,  Wallace,  and 
Samuel  Jordan.6 

On  the  Maryland  farm  Jabez  Kirkwood  made 
a  comfortable  living.  The  rather  small,  two- 
story  log  house,  with  its  generous,  old  fashioned 
fire-place  which  had  been  built  shortly  before 
the  Revolution,  had  received  a  substantial 
frame  addition  before  Samuel's  advent.7  Set 
on  rising  ground  amid  a  small  grove  of  trees  it 
was  clearly  the  home  of  a  family  able  financially 
to  enjoy  at  least  the  simple  comforts  of  life. 
Possibly,  however,  the  father  could  not  have 
provided  thus  well  for  his  family  but  for  the 
fact  that  he  was  a  blacksmith  as  well  as  a 
farmer.  The  blacksmith  of  that  day  was  an 
important  individual  in  any  community,  for 
many  of  the  tools  used  on  the  farm  and  in  the 
house  were  then  the  products  of  the  smith's 
handicraft.  The  iron  work  of  plows,  chains, 
axes,  knives,  chisels,  hay  forks,  nails,  and  many 
other  articles  were  thus  made.  Jabez  Kirk- 
wood  therefore  found  work  to  occupy  much  of 
his  time  at  the  forge ;  and  to  the  older  boys  was 
left  the  management  of  the  farm. 

Thus  the  boyhood  of  Samuel  Kirkwood  was 
not  overshadowed  by  the  meagerness  of  oppor- 


4-  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

tunity  which  fell  to  the  lot  of  so  many  who  later 
attained  prominence  in  public  life.  At  the  same 
time  the  economy  of  farm  life  at  that  day  was 
extremely  simple,  even  in  the  homes  of  the  pros 
perous.  Boiling,  frying,  baking,  and  roasting 
-  all  the  operations  of  cooking  —  were  done  at 
the  huge  open  fire-place,  which  was  so  large  as 
"to  use  in  one  day  wood  enough  to  last  a  cook 
stove  a  whole  week."8  Within  the  home  wool 
was  carded,  spun,  and  woven,  and  later  made 
into  clothing  for  the  family  —  either  by  mem 
bers  of  the  family  or  by  someone  hired  for  the 
purpose.  The  shoemaker,  likewise,  made  the 
round  of  the  homes  and,  sitting  in  the  kitchen 
with  his  kit  of  tools  at  hand,  made  all  the  shoes 
needed  by  members  of  the  family.  The  days 
for  going  barefooted  began  as  early  as  possible 
in  the  spring  and  extended  oftentimes  later 
than  was  comfortable  into  the  fall,  because  it 
was  sometimes  late  when  the  shoemaker  ar 
rived.  Indeed,  Samuel  as  a  boy  frequently 
"stood  on  the  warm  spots  where  the  cows  had 
lain  over  night  to  warm  his  toes  chilled  by  the 
ungenerous  frost",  when  he  was  sent  to  drive 
up  the  animals  for  the  morning  milking.0 

Since  there  were  no  girls  in  the  family  the 
lad  doubtless  ran  more  errands  about  the  house 
and  farm  than  did  most  boys,  but  he  was  not 
too  early  pressed  into  service  unsuited  to  his 
years.  In  fact,  his  parents,  both  members  of 


BOYHOOD  AND  YOUTH  5 

the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  which  the  father 
was  an  elder,  were  firm  believers  in  the  virtues 
of  education.  And  so,  at  a  very  early  age  he 
was  sent  to  school  in  the  log  schoolhouse,  with 
its  oiled  paper  windows  and  split-log  seats  and 
desks,  which  stood  on  the  corner  of  the  Kirk- 
wood  farm.  So  anxious  were  his  parents  that 
he  should  be  regularly  in  his  place  that  he  was 
frequently  carried  to  school  on  the  backs  of  his 
older  brothers.  Until  he  was  ten  years  old  he 
attended  this  country  school,  making  such  ad 
vancement  that  he  was  able  to  cipher  as  far  as 
the  "rule  of  three ",  an  accomplishment  which 
"in  those  days  was  deemed  creditable  in  a 
youth  of  fifteen."10 

Then  at  the  age  of  ten  the  scenes  of  the  boy's 
life  were  shifted  and  he  found  himself,  not  at 
home  with  his  parents  on  a  quiet  Maryland 
farm,  but  almost  alone  among  strangers  amid 
the  disconcerting  noise  and  activity  of  the  cap 
ital  city  of  the  Nation.  It  happened  in  this 
wise.  Twenty-five  years  before,  in  1798,  one 
John  McLeod,  a  man  of  some  education,  came 
to  America  from  Ireland,  which  was  then  in  the 
throes  of  a  revolution,  and  engaged  in  teaching 
as  a  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood.  In  time  he 
met,  wooed  and  married  a  Miss  Coulson,  a 
sister  of  Mary  Coulson  who  was  Jabez  Kirk- 
wood's  first  wife.  In  this  way  the  two  men 
became  brothers-in-law  and  friends.  Later 


6  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

John  McLeod  established  a  private  school  in 
Washington,  D.  C.,  engaging  as  an  assistant  his 
nephew,  Robert  Kirkwood,  who  was  Samuel's 
elder  half-brother.  During  vacations  and  at 
other  times  McLeod  often  found  it  pleasant  to 
visit  the  family  of  his  brother-in-law  in  Har- 
ford  County;  and  perhaps  he  saw  latent  possi 
bilities  in  the  bright  lad  who  was  making  such 
commendable  progress  in  his  studies  in  the  log 
schoolhouse.  At  any  rate  in  1823,  when  he  had 
practically  mastered  the  curriculum  of  the 
home  school,  it  was  decided  that  Samuel  should 
go  to  Washington  and  study  under  the  tutelage 
of  John  McLeod  and  Robert  Kirkwood. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  the  eagerness 
mingled  with  timidity  with  which  the  ten-year- 
old  boy  made  the  journey  to  the  city  and  took 
up  his  abode  with  his  half-brother.  It  was  at 
the  close  of  President  Monroe's  administration; 
and  the  national  capital  was  not  at  that  time 
by  any  means  the  beautiful  city  of  which 
Americans  to-day  are  rightfully  proud.  But  to 
a  boy  all  seemed  wonderful.  While  he  was  too 
young  to  understand  or  be  interested  in  politics 
and  national  affairs,  just  to  catch  an  occasional 
glimpse  of  the  President  and  other  public  men 
whose  names  were  household  words  was  enough 
to  give  zest  to  life.  And  so  Samuel  came  as  a 
lad  to  the  seat  of  government  of  the  Nation 
where  later  in  life  he  was  to  sit  for  a  time  in 
high  positions. 


BOYHOOD  AND  YOUTH  7 

Four  years  were  spent  at  McLeod's  school, 
with  the  result  that  Kirkwood  secured  a  good 
grounding  in  the  English  classics  and  learned 
to  read  Latin  and  Greek  so  well  that  he  never 
entirely  lost  the  proficiency  thus  gained.  Pub 
lic  speaking  also  received  emphasis  in  that 
school,  and  thus  at  an  early  age  the  boy  began 
to  acquire  experience  as  a  speaker  that  later 
stood  him  in  good  stead. 

In  1827,  when  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age, 
Samuel's  mother  died;  and  he  remained  for  a 
time  at  home  to  be  with  his  father  and  help  him 
with  the  work.  But  it  was  not  long  before  he 
was  back  again  in  Washington  —  this  time  not 
as  a  pupil  but  as  a  clerk  in  a  drug  store  kept 
by  one  Patrick  Leyne.  During  the  time  when 
he  was  thus  occupied  he  was  not  intellectually 
idle;  for,  stimulated  perhaps  in  part  by  the 
training  received  in  McLeod  's  school  and  partly 
by  the  brilliant  debates  in  Congress,  he  and 
some  of  his  youthful  associates  formed  a  liter 
ary  or  debating  society.  The  sessions  of  this 
society,  at  first  private,  were  later  opened  to 
visitors ;  and  here,  sometimes  in  the  presence  of 
a  considerable  audience,  the  members  of  the 
organization  developed  their  talents  for  public 
speaking.  The  inauguration  of  President 
Jackson  was  the  great  public  event  of  this 
period  which  stood  out  in  Samuel's  memory. 

After  performing  the  duties  of  a  drug  clerk 


8  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

for  about  a  year  Samuel,  now  seventeen  years 
of  age,  decided  to  put  his  education  to  more 
practical  use  by  teaching  a  country  school. 
The  school  in  question  was  in  York  County, 
Pennsylvania,  just  across  the  historic  State  line 
from  his  home  in  Harford  County.  Here  he 
was  welcomed  to  the  home  of  his  Aunt  Sarah  - 
his  father's  only  sister  —  and  here  he  was  able 
to  pay  for  his  board  by  doing  chores  about  the 
place  mornings  and  evenings.  At  the  conclu 
sion  of  the  term  of  school  he  removed  to  another 
neighborhood  not  far  away  and  there  estab 
lished  a  "subscription  school"  -one  of  his  pu 
pils  being  his  cousin,  Daniel  Kirkwood,  who  la 
ter  attained  eminence  as  an  astronomer.  Here 
he  had  no  fixed  abode,  but  " boarded  around" 
among  the  patrons  of  his  school. 

But  teaching  was  not  altogether  to  the  liking 
of  the  young  man,  and  so  after  this  second 
school  was  closed  he  was  glad  to  accept  an  offer 
to  return  to  Washington  and  to  the  position  of 
drug  clerk,  this  time  in  the  store  owned  by  his 
brother  Wallace  at  the  corner  of  Pennsylvania 
Avenue  and  Eleventh  Street.  To  a  youth  of 
his  age  and  intelligence  life  at  the  capital 
must  now  have  proved  intensely  interesting. 
Men  were  still  talking  about  Webster's  reply 
to  Hayne;  and  not  long  afterward  the  stormy 
episode  of  nullification  furnished  no  little  ex 
citement.  Manv  a  time  vounff  Kirkwood  sat  in 


BOYHOOD  AND  YOUTH  9 

the  gallery  and  listened  to  the  impassioned 
speeches  of  the  great  men  who  then  occupied 
seats  in  the  halls  of  Congress.11 

He  was  not,  however,  so  engrossed  in  public 
and  business  affairs  as  to  forego  the  pleasures 
to  be  found  in  the  society  of  the  young  people 
of  his  acquaintance;  nor  was  he  insensible  to 
the  charms  of  the  opposite  sex.  About  this 
time  he  began  the  keeping  of  what  for  want  of 
a  better  name  might  be  called  an  autograph  al 
bum.  In  it  were  inscribed,  most  often  in  a  dis 
tinctly  feminine  hand,  verses  chiefly  sentimen 
tal  in  character  and  signed  by  the  initials  of 
the  friends  who  thus  expressed  their  wishes  to 
be  remembered  in  later  years.  Kirkwood  like 
wise  displayed  his  own  leaning  toward  the 
poetic  expression  of  tender  sentiments  by  copy 
ing  into  this  album  selections  from  such  writers 
as  Byron  and  Thomas  Moore  and  from  the  cur 
rent  periodicals  and  newspapers  of  the  day. 
And  occasionally  he  even  ventured  to  try  his 
own  powers  in  the  gentle  art  of  verse-making.12 

But  events  were  now  shaping  themselves 
toward  a  momentous  change  in  the  young  man's 
environment  and  outlook  on  life.  For  two  or 
three  years  he  remained  in  his  brother's  em 
ploy,  and  then  returned  home,  where  before  long 
he  learned  of  his  father's  decision  to  move  west. 
To  the  Kirkwood  family  had  come  the  call 
that  has  lured  so  many  of  our  people  to  follow 


10  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

in  successive  generations  the  sunset  trail  to  the 
West.  The  Kirkwoods,  however,  were  never 
pioneers  of  the  pioneers :  they  belonged  rather 
in  the  ranks  of  those  who  came  in  after  the  land 
had  been  well  spied  out  to  assist  in  its  real  and 
permanent  development. 


II 

WESTWARD  OVER  THE  CUMBERLAND  ROAD 

THE  reasons  which  caused  Jabez  Kirkwood  to 
seek  a  new  home  in  the  West  were  not  altogether 
of  his  own  making,  nor  did  they  spring  prima 
rily  from  any  yearning  for  an  abode  in  a  place 
less  densely  peopled.  Financial  embarrassment 
was  the  real  cause  of  his  decision,  for  he  had 
been  the  victim  of  misplaced  generosity  and  of 
later  misfortune.  First,  he  had  furnished 
security  for  a  friend,  a  merchant,  who  desired  to 
borrow  a  considerable  sum  of  money.  In  time 
the  friend  failed  in  business,  thereby  shifting  to 
the  shoulders  of  his  bondsman  such  a  burden 
that  nearly  all  of  Kirkwood 's  accumulated  sav 
ings  were  swept  away  and  he  was  left  with  little 
more  than  the  farm  with  which  he  had  started. 
Rallying  from  this  severe  blow,  he  turned  to 
raising  fine  horses  for  the  Baltimore  market  — 
a  business  that  offered  large  returns.  Success  in 
this  undertaking  was  just  beginning  to  replen 
ish  the  empty  family  treasury  when  there  sud 
denly  came  another  calamity:  a  fatal  disease 
broke  out  among  his  horses  and  when  it  had  run 

11 


12  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

its  course  scarcely  one  out  of  a  goodly  herd 
was  left  alive.13 

To  a  man  who  was  nearing  three  score  years 
these  reverses  of  fortune  could  have  been  little 
less  than  disheartening.  The  soil  on  a  portion 
of  the  Maryland  farm  had  long  since  become  so 
exhausted  that  it  had  been  allowed  to  lie  uncul 
tivated;14  while  the  patronage  of  country  black 
smiths  had  greatly  diminished  as  more  and  more 
manufactured  tools  and  iron  articles  came  into 
use.  The  prospect  of  again  accumulating  a 
comfortable  competency  in  the  home  where  he 
had  lived  so  long  seemed  small  indeed.  And 
so,  in  the  year  1835,  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine, 
Jabez  Kirkwood  turned  his  face  toward  the 
West  —  the  land  of  new  hope  for  myriads  of 
discouraged  men  —  and  determined  to  seek  a 
more  favorable  home  in  the  State  of  Ohio. 

After  disposing  of  his  property,  the  elder 
Kirkwood  secured  the  necessary  equipment  for 
the  four  hundred  mile  overland  journey.15  A 
large,  strong  wagon  was  procured,  possibly  of 
the  type  called  "mountain  ship",  with  broad- 
tired  wheels,  curved  bottom,  and  white  canvas 
cover.10  Into  this  vehicle  were  loaded  all  of 
the  goods  which  the  family  could  take,  and  to 
it  were  hitched  as  many  horses  as  were  neces 
sary  to  haul  it  to  its  destination.  Then  the 
emigrants  —  consisting  of  Jabez  Kirkwood  and 
certain  of  his  sons  including  Samuel  —  bade 


OVER  THE  CUMBERLAND  ROAD         13 

farewell  to  the  Harf ord  County  home ;  the  word 
was  given  to  the  horses,  and  the  heavy  wagon 
rolled  out  on  the  road  that  led  westward. 

From  Baltimore  there  was  a  much  traveled 
thoroughfare  extending  to  the  northwestward. 
After  a  space  it  joined  another  highway  coming 
up  from  Alexandria  and  Washington  City  to 
the  south ;  and  thence  followed  very  closely  the 
path  marked  many  years  before  by  the  ill-fated 
Braddock  through  forests  and  mountains  until 
at  last  it  emerged  at  Cumberland  in  the  western 
end  of  the  State.17  Marylanders  bound  for  the 
Ohio  Valley  in  1835  found  this  road  to  be  the 
best  and  most  direct.  Hence  it  would  be  natu 
ral  for  the  Kirkwood  party  to  prefer  as  soon  as 
possible  to  strike  this  well-known  highway  rath 
er  than  to  seek  their  way  over  less  frequented 
roads.  But  by  whatever  route  they  traveled 
they  at  last  found  themselves  at  the  town  of 
Cumberland  on  the  Potomac,  the  eastern  termi 
nus  of  the  great  Cumberland  or  National  Road 
which  "  carried  thousands  of  population  and 
millions  of  wealth  into  the  West ;  and  more  than 
any  other  material  structure  in  the  land,  served 
to  harmonize  and  strengthen,  if  not  save,  the 
Union."18 

The  Cumberland  Road  in  those  days  was  no 
mere  wilderness  trail  through  an  uninhabited 
country.  It  was  a  highway  the  like  of  which 
was  never  again  built  in  America  until  the  auto- 


14  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

mobile  worked  a  revolution  in  the  character  of 
the  roads.  Stretching  like  a  ribbon  from  the 
Potomac  through  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  Indi 
ana,  it  eventually  reached  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi;  and  throughout  the  greater  part  of 
this  distance  it  was  macadamized  with  a  surface 
of  crushed  stone  several  inches  thick.  "Leaping 
the  Ohio  at  Wheeling",  the  road  extended 
"across  Ohio  and  Indiana,  straight  as  an  arrow, 
like  an  ancient  elevated  pathway  of  the  gods, 
chopping  hills  in  twain  at  a  blow,  traversing 
the  lowlands  on  high  grades  like  a  railroad 
bed,  vaulting  river  and  stream  on  massive 
bridges  of  unparalleled  size."10 

Nor  did  the  traveler  over  this  highway  suffer 
from  loneliness :  at  least  in  Pennsylvania  and 
Ohio  the  National  Road  was  a  busy  thorough 
fare.  It  was  traversed  by  regular  stage  lines 
carrying  mail  and  passengers,  both  local  and 
long  distance,  to  and  from  the  West  in  gaily 
decorated  and  richly  upholstered  coaches.  Hea 
vy  freighters,  drawn  by  six  or  eight  horses, 
carried  the  manufactured  goods  of  the  East  to 
the  growing  settlements  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  and 
returned  laden  with  the  produce  of  western 
farms.  Emigrants  by  the  thousands  also  trav 
eled  over  the  road  to  fiiid  new  homes  in  the 
West.  Farmers  hauled  their  wheat  or  corn  or 
tobacco  or  drove  large  herds  of  cattle  or  hogs 
along  the  road  to  eastern  markets.  And  finally. 


OVER  THE  CUMBERLAND  ROAD         15 

the  traveler  along  the  National  Road  might 
expect  to  meet  persons  of  note  riding  in  stylish 
conveyances  —  capitalists,  literary  lights,  Con 
gressmen,  and  even  the  President  of  the  United 
States.20 

Along  this  lively  roadway  Jabez  Kirkwood 
and  his  sons  journeyed  after  leaving  the  town 
of  Cumberland  on  the  Potomac.  At  first  the 
road  wound  upward  toward  the  west  through 
the  rugged,  mountainous  country  of  western 
Maryland.  Then,  finding  a  pass  between  the 
hills  it  turned  into  Pennsylvania,  crossing  the 
first  westward-flowing  water  —  the  Youghio- 
gheny  Eiver  —  at  the  town  of  Somerfield.  A 
short  distance  further  to  the  northwest  the  road 
passed  close  by  the  grave  of  General  Braddock, 
the  man  who  had  blazed  the  trail  which  had  now 
grown  into  a  great  highway.  Thence,  descend 
ing  gradually  into  the  fertile,  smiling  valley  of 
the  Monongahela,  crossing  the  ponderous  stone 
bridge  at  Big  Crossings  (now  Smithfield),  and 
passing  through  Uniontown,  the  route  led  at 
length  to  Brownsville,  the  village  on  the  Monon 
gahela  River  which  in  early  years  had  attained 
prominence  under  the  name  of  Redstone  Old 
Fort.  Crossing  the  river  at  this  historic  point 
the  thoroughfare  ran  through  the  prosperous 
farms  of  Washington  County  across  the  West 
Virginia  line  to  Wheeling,  whence  after  cross- 


16  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

ing  the  Ohio  it  continued  its  way  almost  in  a 
direct  line  to  the  westward.21 

Jfow  the  Kirkwood  party  fared  on  the  jour 
ney,  whether  they  put  up  at  night  in  taverns  or 
in  less  pretentious  road-houses  which  lined  the 
way  or  slept  in  the  open  in  the  shelter  of  their 
wagon,  how  long  they  were  on  the  road  —  all 
these  and  other  details  which  would  be  of  inter 
est  must  be  left  to  the  imagination.  Only  one 
incident  of  the  long  trip  apparently  remained 
firmly  fixed  in  the  memory  of  the  youngest  mem 
ber  of  the  party.  All  the  money  belonging  to 
the  family  had  been  put  in  a  common  purse  and 
entrusted  to  the  care  of  John,  the  oldest  son. 
One  morning  upon  arising  and  preparing  for 
another  day's  travel  it  was  discovered  to  their 
great  consternation  that  the  bag  of  money  was 
missing.  Here,  indeed,  was  a  pretty  situation ! 
Xot  only  had  they  lost  their  small  accumulations 
with  which  they  had  planned  to  buy  land  and 
the  things  necessary  to  set  up  a  new  home,  but 
even  on  the  Cumberland  Eoad  they  could  not 
travel  far  without  at  least  a  little  money.  There 
were  tolls  to  pay  and  they  must  have  food  for 
themselves  and  their  horses.  Robbery  of  course 
was  feared,  but  nevertheless  a  diligent  search 
was  made.  The  contents  of  the  wagon  were 
feverishly  ransacked,  but  to  no  avail.  At  length 
the  precious  bag  was  found  in  the  very  bottom 
of  the  wagon,  where  it  had  fallen  through  the 


OVER  THE  CUMBERLAND  ROAD         17 

chinks  between  the  articles  which  made  up  the 
load.22  It  is  needless  to  say  that  thereafter 
the  purse  was  guarded  with  even  more  jealous 
care. 

Doubtless  Jabez  Kirkwood  and  his  sons  had 
already  definitely  determined  upon  the  region 
where  they  would  seek  for  land.  In  1835  the 
country  in  north-central  Ohio,  somewhat  back 
from  the  lake  and  away  from  the  principal 
lines  of  travel,  still  offered  better  opportuni 
ties  to  settlers  than  were  to  be  found  in  the  more 
developed  portions  of  the  State.  To  reach  this 
region  the  Kirkwoods  would  have  the  choice  of 
at  least  tw^o  well-defined  courses  after  crossing 
the  Ohio  Eiver  at  Wheeling.  From  Bridgeport, 
across  the  river  from  Wheeling,  there  was  a 
road  running  to  the  northwest  through  Cadiz 
and  New  Philadelphia  to  Wooster;  and  thence 
another  road  led  westward  to  Mansfield  in  the 
heart  of  the  region  toward  which  the  travelers 
were  wending  their  way.  Or  they  might  pro 
ceed  along  the  National  Road  across  the  State 
of  Ohio  until  they  reached  a  point  about  midway 
between  Zanesville  and  Columbus,  where  they 
would  strike  a  road  running  north  through 
Newark  and  Mt.  Vernon  to  Mansfield.23 

Although  there  is  no  way  of  telling  which  of 
these  two  routes  the  Kirkwoods  adopted,  they 
found  themselves  in  Richland  County,  where  the 
father  was  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days, 


18  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

and  whore  Samuel  was  to  live  for  twenty  years 
-years  which  gave  to  him  the  maturity  and 
wide  experience  which  fitted  him  later  to  assume 
a  position  of  leadership  in  another  western 
Commonwealth. 


Ill 

FIRST  YEARS  IN  HIGHLAND  COUNTY 

EICHLAND  COUNTY,  Ohio,  had  long  ceased  to  be 
a  frontier  region  before  the  Kirkwoods  arrived : 
it  was  a  well  settled  community  in  which  nearly 
all  the  public  land  had  been  taken  up  and  cov 
ered  with  prosperous  farm  homes.  Indeed,  the 
population  of  the  county  in  1835  must  have 
been  upwards  of  thirty  thousand,  for  this  was 
the  period  of  the  flood  tide  of  emigration  to 
Ohio.24  Along  the  forks  of  the  Mohican  there 
were  settlements  as  early  as  the  year  1809,  and 
during  the  following  years  there  poured  in  a 
stream  of  pioneers,  chiefly  from  Pennsylvania. 
Of  these  early  settlers  some  were  of  German 
origin,  while  large  numbers  were  Scotch-Irish 
Presbyterians;25  and  thus  it  goes  without  say 
ing  that  they  were  a  thrifty  lot.  At  the  same 
time  it  was  remarked  that  the  inhabitants  were 
somewhat  "  behind  the  age  in  enterprise  and 
public  spirit ",  the  assigned  reason  being  that 
they  lived  so  far ' i  distant  from  any  of  the  public 
improvements  of  the  day".  But  in  1837  it  was 
predicted  that  this  handicap  would  soon  be 
removed  by  the  building  of  railroads  and 

19 


20  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

canals,  several  of  which  were  even  then  pro 
jected."" 

The  character  of  the  soil  was  indicated  by  the 
name  of  the  county.  Its  surface  was  gently 
rolling,  though  in  the  southern  part  it  might  be 
called  hilly;  and  throughout  its  length  and 
breadth  there  was  scarcely  any  waste  land. 
Wheat,  at  that  time  the  principal  agricultural 
product,  was  manufactured  into  Hour  within  the 
county  and  hauled  overland  to  Lake  Erie  or  to 
the  Erie  and  Ohio  Canal,  whence  it  was  shipped 
by  boat  to  eastern  markets.  During  the  grain- 
hauling  season  "the  highway  was  often  blocked 
with  long  trains  of  wagons  that  would  not  give 
way  for  other  vehicles.  At  night  the  wagons 
would  be  parked  on  the  roadside  near  a  creek, 
and  the  farmers  and  their  boys  would  have  a 
regular  joyous  picnic  on  provisions  brought 
from  home."  The  county  was  "also  famed  for 
its  fine  horses  and  neat  cattle."-7 

It  was  in  the  hilly  region  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  county,  sixteen  or  seventeen  miles  by 
road  southeast  from  Mansfield,  the  county  seat 
and  principal  town,  that  the  Kirkwoods  halted. 
The  father  soon  afterward  filed  on  eighty  acres 
of  wild  government  land  which  was  covered 
with  a  dense  growth  of  timber;  while  John 
bought  an  adjoining  quarter  section  scarcely 
less  in  readiness  for  cultivation.  On  John's 
land  there  was  a  log  cabin  in  the  midst  of  a 


IN  HIGHLAND  COUNTY  21 

small  clearing  —  the  work  no  doubt  of  a  pioneer 
of  the  type  that  could  not  abide  close  neighbors 
and  soon  pressed  on  again  to  the  frontier, 
selling  his  claim  for  what  he  could  get.  Into 
this  cabin  were  moved  the  contents  of  the 
wagon,  and  the  Kirkwoods  entered  upon  a  life 
that  was  new  to  them.  Not  far  away  w^as  the 
great  north  and  south  road  from  Columbus  to 
Cleveland  with  its  busy  traffic.  Well-improved 
farms  were  all  about  them;  and  it  was  only 
four  or  five  miles  to  the  post  village  of  Newville, 
where  once  each  week  they  received  their  mail. 
In  at  least  two  respects,  however,  they  were 
confronted  with  the  conditions  of  pioneer  life: 
practically  every  foot  of  their  land  must  be 
subdued  and  their  home  was  at  first  as  rude  and 
primitive  as  that  of  the  first  pathfinder. 

The  first  years  in  Ohio,  therefore,  were  years 
of  hard  toil.  To  clear  heavily-timbered  land 
was  a  task  for  the  strong,  and  to  prepare  an 
area  large  enough  to  permit  of  the  raising  of 
crops  worth  while  meant  long  and  tedious  labor. 
The  undergrowth  must  be  cleared  away  and 
burned,  the  trees  felled  and  disposed  of,  and 
the  stumps  blasted  and  dug  out  of  the  ground. 
Eventually,  however,  some  sixty  acres  were 
cleared  and  placed  under  cultivation.  Mean 
while  the  cabin  was  improved  and  made  more 
habitable,  and  a  lean-to  addition  was  built  in 
the  rear  to  serve  as  sleeping  rooms.28  The  hard 


22  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

times  of  1837,  which  followed  the  bursting  of 
the  bubble  of  land  speculation  and  the  partial 
subsidence  of  the  public  improvement  fever, 
pressed  heavily  upon  the  Kirkwoods ;  but  they 
had  gained  a  foothold  which  they  were  able  to 
maintain  through  this  period  of  adversity. 

During  the  winters  Samuel  earned  a  little 
ready  money  by  teaching  district  schools.  In 
that  part  of  the  country  the  schoolhouses  were 
mostly  constructed  of  logs,  but  glass  had 
replaced  oiled  paper  in  the  windows  and  there 
were  desks  made  of  rough  boards,  although  the 
seats  were  likely  to  be  of  the  old  split-log  type. 
The  wages  received  by  teachers  varied  from 
eight  to  ten  dollars  a  month  for  men,  and  from 
six  to  eight  dollars  for  women,  though  there 
were  comparatively  few  of  the  latter  in  those 
days.  Of  expenses  there  were  almost  none,  for 
the  teacher  boarded  around  in  the  homes  of  the 
patrons  of  the  school,  staying  about  a  week 
with  each  family.  Nor  was  he  an  unwelcome 
guest  in  these  homes,  for  to  have  the  teacher  at 
the  table  and  in  the  family  circle  around  the  fire 
during  the  long  winter  evenings  was  a  privilege 
much  cherished  by  children  and  grown-ups 
alike.  He  was  often  the  sole  connecting  link 
between  the  lonely,  monotonous  routine  of  farm 
life  and  the  great  world  of  learning.  Some 
times,  of  course,  the  teachers  by  holding  aloof 
and  "putting  on  airs"  succeeded  only  in 


IN  RICHLAND  COUNTY  23 

antagonizing  the  sturdy,  democratic  people 
among  whom  they  labored;  but  Samuel  Kirk- 
wood  was  not  of  this  type.  Instead,  he  was 
able  to  enter  into  their  lives  in  such  a  way  as  to 
learn  much  from  them  while  giving  of  his  own 
knowledge.29 

The  album  of  verse,  begun  in  Washington 
City  and  carried  to  the  new  home,  received 
numerous  additions  during  these  years.  New 
found  friends  inscribed  in  it  sentiments  or 
words  of  advice;  while  Samuel  wrote  lines  to 
this  or  that  young  lady.  But  it  was  not 
maidenly  charms  alone  that  inspired  him;  for 
when  he  read  the  famous  "People's  Charter" 
drawn  up  in  1838  by  the  Chartists  in  England 
his  democratic  spirit  was  deeply  stirred,  and  he 
wrote  a  poem  of  which  the  following  are  the 
first,  fourth,  and  fifth  stanzas: 

"What  sound  comes  over  the  mighty  deep  ? 

Do  the  fierce,  wild  winds  its  bosom  sweep? 

Is  the  Demon  of  death  from  his  whirlwind  car 

Scattering  woe  and  death  afar? 

Whence  that  deep  sound?    Does  the  earthquake  shock 

Shiver  and  scatter  the  mountain  and  rock, 

The  castle  of  noble  and  cottage  of  swain, 

Alike  undistinguished  afar  on  the  plain? 

It  comes  from  the  land  whence  sprang  our  sires, 
Whose  hands  first  kindled  those  beacon  fires, 
Whose  broad,  bright  light  by  the  blessing  of  Heaven 


124  SAMUEL  J.  KiRKWOOD 

Xo\v  roaches  the  land  from  which  they  were  driven, 
lias  dispelled  the  deep  darkness  by  tyranny  cast 
O'er  the  souls  of  men  in  times  long  past. 
God  grant  that  its  beamings  may  brighten  and  spread 
Till  no  slave  stains  the  earth  with  his  desolate  tread. 

They  will  —  aye  they  must  —  for  that  fire  from  above, 
While  fed  with  the  patriots  devotion  and  love, 
Neither  princes  of  earth  nor  the  powers  of  Hell 
Its  light  or  its  increase  can  darken  or  quell. 
It  will  stream  to  the  sky;  'twill  encircle  the  earth, 
'Twill  blaze  on  the  altar,  'twill  cheer  the  rude  hearth, 
God's  mockers,  Earth's  Kings,  from  their  proud  seats 

be  hurl 'd, 
And  Freedom's  fair  sunbeam  will  gladden  the  world.-'1" 

It  was  while  teaching"  that  Kirkwood  met  and 
became  acquainted  with  Abram  Armentrout, 
the  assessor  of  Richland  Comity,  who  appar 
ently  took  a  great  liking-  to  the  young1  man. 
The  upshot  was  that  in  1840  Samuel  was 
appointed  as  Armentrout 's  deputy  and  assigned 
the  duty  of  assessing  the  property  in  thirteen 
townships  of  the  county.  In  performing  this 
task  he  tramped  on  foot  most  of  the  time,  going 
from  farm  to  farm,  meeting  the  people  and 
learning-  the  extent  of  their  worldly  possessions. 
The  compensation  was  one  dollar  and  a  half  a 
day,  a  truly  munificent  sum  when  compared  with 
the  wages  of  a  country  school  teacher;  and 
besides,  young  Kirkwood  thus  began  an  ac- 


IN  RICHLAND  COUNTY  25 

quaintance  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  county 
which  was  helpful  to  him  in  later  years. 

The  work  of  assessment  was  completed  in  due 
time,  and  then  Abram  Armentrout  had  other 
employment  to  offer  his  deputy.  He  had  pur 
chased  a  store  and  tavern,  evidently  at  some 
small  cross-roads  village,  possibly  at  the  post 
town  of  Newville.  Here  for  about  a  year 
Samuel  Kirkwood  exchanged  merchandise  for 
the  money  and  farm  produce  of  the  settlers  and 
helped  minister  to  the  wants  of  such  travelers 
as  stopped  at  the  tavern  for  meals  or  to  pass 
the  night.31 

But  this  was  not  the  kind  of  a  life  for  a  young 
man  with  ambition  and  a  taste  for  the  society 
of  keen  minds.  Neither  did  school  teaching 
appeal  to  him  as  a  life  work.  Farming,  while 
reasonably  agreeable  to  him,  seemed  to  lead 
nowhere,  since  during  those  years  of  financial 
stringency  he  saw  no  hope  of  earning  sufficient 
money  as  a  farm-hand  to  buy  a  farm  of  his  own. 
Soon,  however,  a  way  was  opened  to  a  career 
which  offered  many  attractions ;  and  so,  in  the 
year  1841,  Kirkwood  left  the  tavern  and  the 
farm  and  established  himself  in  the  county  seat 
town  which  was  to  be  his  home  for  nearly 
fifteen  years. 

Mansfield,  the  seat  of  justice  of  Eichland 
County,  was  beautifully  located  "upon  a  com 
manding  elevation,  overlooking  a  country  hand- 


2(>  SAMUEL  J.  K1RKWOOD 

somoly  disposed  in  hills  and  valleys",  nearly  in 
the  center  of  the  county.32  Commercially  it  was 
also  well  situated,  for  it  was  the  axis  from 
which  radiated,  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel,  well 
graded  pikes  and  roads  running  in  all  directions 
to  the  principal  towns  and  cities  of  the  State/53 
Seventy  miles  to  the  southwest  lay  Columbus, 
the  capital  city;  while  off  in  the  opposite 
direction  at  about  an  equal  distance  was  the 
growing  lake  port  of  Cleveland  at  the  north  end 
of  the  Erie  and  Ohio  Canal.  It  only  needed  a 
canal  or,  better,  a  railroad,  to  make  Mansfield 
a  place  of  considerable  importance. 

The  town,  at  the  time  when  Kirkwood  first 
knew  it,  contained  about  fourteen  hundred 
people.  The  business  houses,  consisting  in  1837 
of  fifteen  stores,  five  taverns,  two  apothecary 
shops,  two  printing  offices,  and  a  market  house, 
faced  a  public  square  in  the  center  of  which  was 
a  two-story  brick  court  house.  Six  church 
denominations,  each  with  its  own  building, 
looked  after  the  spiritual  interests  of  the 
people;  and  four  physicians  and  eight  lawyers 
found  patronage  in  the  town  and  surrounding 
country.  While  the  railroad  had  not  yet 
reached  its  iron  arms  that  far,  four  different 
stage  coaches  arrived  and  departed  three  times 
each  week,  carrying  the  mail  and  passengers; 
and  besides,  four  mails  each  week  were  carried 
on  horseback.34  The  town,  therefore,  did  not 


IN  RICHLAND  COUNTY  27 

lack  for  frequent  and  regular  communications 
with  the  outside  world.  Altogether,  Mansfield 
was  just  the  sort  of  a  place  for  a  young  man 
entering  upon  a  professional  career. 

Among  the  lawyers  of  the  town  there  was 
none  more  prominent  and  successful  than 
Thomas  W.  Bartley,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
the  county  and  a  man  of  sound  common  sense 
who  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  all  who  knew 
him.  It  was  the  offer  of  an  opportunity  to 
study  law  in  the  office  of  this  medium-sized, 
gruff-spoken  lawyer  that  brought  Samuel 
Kirkwood  to  Mansfield  in  1841.  Bartley  at  that 
time  had  represented  the  people  of  Richland 
County  for  one  term  in  the  lower  house  of  the 
General  Assembly,  and  had  given  such  satis 
faction  that  in  1841  he  was  elected  to  a  seat  in 
the  State  Senate,  where  he  served  for  two 
years.35 

A  rather  uncertain  prospect  faced  Kirkwood 
as  he  settled  himself  at  a  desk  in  Bartley 's 
office  in  a  small,  one-story  building  facing  the 
public  square.  His  small  supply  of  money 
would  by  no  means  cover  his  expenses  during 
the  two  years  which  would  expire  before  he 
could  take  the  examinations  and  be  admitted  to 
the  bar.  But  again  fortune  favored  him.  He 
had  in  Mansfield  a  friend,  Dr.  E.  W.  Lake,36 
who  happened  at  that  period  to  be  clerk  of  the 
court  of  Richland  County.  Not  wishing  to 


28  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

spend  much  of  his  time  in  the  office,  Dr.  Lake 
virtually  left  Barnabas  Burns,  his  deputy,  in 
charge;  and  oftentimes  there  was  more  work  of 
a  clerical  nature  than  one  man  could  well  per 
form.  And  so  occasional  employment  for  part 
time  was  offered  to  Kirkwood,  such  as  copying 
records  and  doing  a  part  of  the  large  amount  of 
writing  required  in  the  office  —  work  which  he 
was  glad  to  accept.  In  this  way  he  not  only 
earned  sufficient  money  to  enable  him  to  con 
tinue  his  studies,  but  was  placed  in  a  position 
to  gain  a  knowledge  of  court  procedure  which 
was  of  great  value  to  a  prospective  attorney. 
Furthermore,  during  these  months  of  com 
panionship  there  began  a  close  and  lasting 
friendship  between  Kirkwood  and  Barnabas 
Burns.37 

The  two  years  in  the  office  of  Thomas  AV. 
Bartley  passed  without  notable  incident. 
Kirkwood  no  doubt  found  abundant  inspiration 
to  impel  him  to  hard  and  serious  study,  for  the 
Mansfield  bar,  in  addition  to  Bartley,  embraced 
some  able  and  eminent  lawyers.  In  the  first 
place,  there  was  Jacob  Brinkerhoff,  who  shortly 
afterwards  was  sent  to  Congress  where  he 
attained  fame  by  drafting  the  Wilmot  Proviso, 
and  who  later  served  with  distinction  for 
fifteen  years  on  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio. 
Another  was  Thomas  II.  Ford,  a  man  who 
gained  sufficient  prominence  throughout  the 


IN  HIGHLAND  COUNTY  29 

Commonwealth  to  be  elected  Lieutenant  Gov 
ernor.  James  Stewart  and  Jacob  Parker  were 
scarcely  less  well  known.  And  finally,  there 
was  Charles  T.  Sherman,  to  whose  office  there 
came  as  a  student  about  this  time  his  younger 
brother  John,  whose  name,  along  with  those  of 
his  illustrious  brothers,  has  a  safe  place  in  the 
annals  of  American  history.  These  two  Mans 
field  law  students,  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  and 
John  Sherman,  were  destined  to  sit  for  a  time 
as  colleagues  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
and  to  become  trusted  counsellors  of  Presidents. 

Late  in  life  John  Sherman  recalled  how,  in 
order  to  prepare  themselves  in  a  practical  way 
for  future  contests  at  the  bar,  the  students  in 
the  various  offices  at  Mansfield  "organized  a 
moot  court,  presided  over  by  Joseph  Newman, 
then  in  active  practice  as  a  partner  of  Mr. 
Stewart.  We  held  famous  moot  courts  in  which 
cases  were  tried  with  all  the  earnestness, 
industry  and  skill  that  could  have  been  evoked 
by  real  cases.  In  these  trials  Mr.  Kirkwood 
and  I  were  usually  pitted  against  each  other. 

.  .  I  have  always  regarded  our  contests  in 
this  moot  court  as  the  most  important  part  of 
my  legal  training.  "38 

Other  friendships  made  by  Kirkwood  during 
these  years  were  likewise  significant.  With 
Barnabas  Burns,  the  deputy  clerk,  he  later 
formed  a  congenial  and  lucrative  partnership. 


30  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Between  him  and  Frank  Barker,  another  young 
law  student,  there  sprang  up  a  warm  friendship 
which  was  brought  to  a  sudden  end  by  a  tragedy 
that  gave  Kirkwood  his  most  important  case 
before  the  court.  But  even  more  fortunate  \vas 
the  attachment  which  he  formed  for  John 
Clark,  a  fellow  reader  of  law  in  Bartley's  office. 
It  was  through  this  young  man  that  Kirkwood 
came  to  know  the  one  who  was  to  be  his  com 
panion  through  life. 

Social  life  among  the  young  people  of 
Mansfield  was  notable  for  its  freedom  and 
democracy.  There  were  "social  meetings, 
parties,  dances,  and  an  occasional  ball  during 
the  winter,  but  in  summer,  riding  in  carriages 
and  on  horseback  was  the  recreation  of  the  day. 
Fleming's  Ravine,  about  five  miles  from  Mans 
field,  was  the  general  gathering  place  for  young 
and  old.  A  small  stream  had  cut  a  deep  ravine 
with  rocky  banks  on  either  side.  An  old  mill 
with  its  overshot  wheel  spanned  the  ravine  and 
filled  it  with  noisy  rattle.  The  adjacent  woods, 
where  the  fire  was  lit  and  the  coffee  made,  and 
the  farm  lands  stretching  beyond,  made  a 
picturesque  scene  often  described  and  always 
admired."  Here  there  were  "dances,  frolics, 
speeches  and  fun,  with  healthy  exercise  in  the 
open  air."39 

At  length  the  time  came  when  Kirkwood  was 
readv  to  take  the  examinations  for  admission 


IN  HIGHLAND  COUNTY  31 

to  the  bar.  This  involved  a  journey  of  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  across  the 
State  to  Cincinnati,  where  the  examinations 
were  held.  Frank  Barker  also  desired  to 
present  himself  before  the  examining  board, 
and  the  two  men  decided  to  make  the  trip  on 
horseback  rather  than  to  pay  the  charges  and 
suffer  the  inconveniences  of  travel  by  stage. 
Doubtless  they  followed  the  direct  route  which 
lay  first  to  Columbus  and  thence  by  the  turn 
pike  to  the  " Queen  City"  and  metropolis.40 
The  applicants  were  successful  in  passing  the 
examinations ;  and  thus  in  the  year  1843  Samuel 
Jordan  Kirkwood  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio.  Shortly  afterward 
he  returned  to  Mansfield,  secured  an  office  room, 
hung  out  his  shingle,  and  sat  down  to  await  the 
coming  of  clients. 


IV 

R  OF  THE  MANSFIELD  BAR 


ONE  day  a  few  months  later  as  Kirkwood  was 
sitting  in  his  office,  reading  law  cases  or  per 
chance  idly  watching  some  farmer  as  he  drove 
np  to  the  hitching  rail  which  surrounded  the 
public  square,  the  door  opened  and  in  walked 
Thomas  W.  Bartley.  Accepting  the  proffered 
seat,  with  characteristic  directness  he  soon 
made  known  the  object  of  his  visit. 

For  several  years,  indeed  during  the  time 
when  Kirkwood  had  been  a  student  in  his  office, 
Judge  Bartley  had  been  in  partnership  with 
his  brother-in-law,  a  man  of  apparently  minor 
consequence  in  the  firm.  This  arrangement  had 
been  growing  more  and  more  unsatisfactory, 
and  now  the  lawyer  told  his  former  pupil  that 
the  partnership  had  been  dissolved.  Following 
this  announcement  he  asked  Kirkwood  if  he 
had  given  any  thought  to  the  possibility  of 
entering  into  a  partnership.  Kirkwood  replied 
that  he  and  Frank  Barker  had  discussed  the 
question  in  a  very  indefinite  manner,  but  had 
come  to  no  conclusion.  Thereupon  his  visitor 
came  directly  to  the  point  and  offered  to  take 


MEMBER  OF  THE  BAR  33 

him  into  partnership  —  an  offer  which  was 
both  unexpected  and  flattering  to  Kirkwood.41 

Far  different  now  was  the  prospect  which  lay 
before  the  young  attorney.  Instead  of  being 
obliged  to  wait  patiently  for  clients  and  gradu 
ally  work  himself  into  a  practice,  he  could  step 
into  an  assured  position  where  he  was  to 
receive  one-half  of  the  proceeds  of  a  well- 
established  business.  Of  course  he  accepted  the 
offer,  pulled  down  his  sign,  and  moved  his 
effects  to  the  old  familiar  office  where  for  two 
years  he  had  labored  as  a  student.  Moreover, 
at  this  time  the  new  junior  member  of  the  firm 
had  interests  in  addition  to  the  troubles  of 
quarrelsome  neighbors  and  other  people  who 
needed  legal  service. 

Among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Richland 
County  were  two  immigrants  from  Pennsyl 
vania,  Ichabod  Clark  and  his  young  wife. 
Coming  in  the  year  1811  they  settled  upon  a 
half  section  of  land  about  six  miles  to  the  south 
and  west  of  the  spot  where  in  a  few  years  there 
sprang  up  the  town  of  Mansfield.  It  was  then 
a  region  wild  and  almost  uninhabited..  Neigh 
bors  were  few  and  far  between,  and  to  the  west 
scarcely  a  tree  or  an  acre  of  ground  had  been 
touched  by  the  axe  or  the  plow  of  the  white  man. 
Indians  prowled  about  and  oftentimes  looked 
upon  the  intruders  on  their  ancient  hunting- 
grounds  with  such  an  unfriendly  eye  that  the 


34  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

squatters  built  for  themselves  a  block-house  to 
which  they  and  their  wives  and  children  might 
flee  in  case  of  danger.  Especially  during  the 
War  of  1812  did  the  red  man's  tomahawk  hang 
over  the  dwellers  in  the  scattered  cabin  homes. 
It  was  partly  for  this  reason  that  Ichabod  Clark 
enlisted  in  the  militia  and  in  a  number  of  the 
small  engagements  on  the  southern  border  of 
Lake  Erie  did  his  part  to  protect  his  country 
against  English  aggression  and  his  fireside 
against  savage  foes.42 

After  the  war  was  over  there  began  in  dead 
earnest  the  long,  up-hill  struggle  to  make  a 
farm  out  of  a  wilderness  of  trees  and  under 
brush.  Health  and  contentment,  however, 
reigned  in  the  Clark  household  and  prosperity 
crowned  the  efforts  of  the  pioneer  and  his 
capable,  vigorous  companion.  Here  were  born 
ten  robust  children  —  two  boys,  Ezekiel  and 
John,  and  eight  girls,  among  whom  was  Jane 
born  in  the  year  1821. 

Now  it  was  John,  the  younger  of  the  two 
Clark  boys,  who  was  a  fellow-student  with 
Kirkwood  in  Bartley's  office.  It  happened  in 
the  late  fall  of  1842  that  John  Clark  was  inter 
ested  in  a  lawsuit  which  was  scheduled  to  be 
heard  before  a  country  justice  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  county;  and  he  persuaded  Kirkwood 
to  accompany  him  and  be  present  at  the  hearing 
of  the  case.  The  road  led  past  the  Clark  farm 


MEMBER  OF  THE  BAR  35 

and  so  the  two  embryo  lawyers  stopped  over 
night  at  John 's  home,  both  going  and  returning 
from  the  trial.  This  was  the  first  meeting  of 
Samuel  Kirkwood  and  Jane  Clark,  who  was 
then  in  the  bloom  of  young  womanhood.  The 
guest  singled  her  out  among  her  sisters  and 
fell  so  completely  under  the  spell  of  her  charms 
that  he  was  not  able  to  remove  her  image  from 
his  mind  and  heart  upon  his  return  to  Mansfield. 

Then  ensued  a  period  of  courtship,  which  was 
carried  on  at  first  largely  by  correspondence 
because  Jane  was  teaching  and  was  seldom  to 
be  found  at  home.  Later,  in  order  to  see  the 
lady  of  his  choice,  Samuel  was  willing  to  run 
the  gauntlet  of  jibes  and  jokes  sometimes 
incurred  by  calling  upon  her  at  the  farm  home 
where  for  the  time  she  might  happen  to  be 
staying.  The  summer  of  1843  witnessed  their 
betrothal  and  the  wedding  was  set  for  an  early 
day.43 

It  was  at  about  this  time  that  the  firm  of 
Bartley  and  Kirkwood  was  formed,  and  the 
junior  member  soon  found  that  while  he  was  to 
receive  his  full  share  of  the  profits  of  the  office, 
he  would  be  obliged  to  earn  this  good  fortune 
by  doing  more  than  half  of  the  work.  Fully 
twenty  cases  had  been  placed  in  Hartley's  hands 
to  be  taken  up  at  the  next  term  of  court.  Some 
of  these  cases  were  of  a  very  technical  char 
acter,  since  they  had  to  do  with  riparian  rights 


36  SAMUEL  J.  K1KKWOOD 

and  damages  due  to  the  overflowing  of  lands 
caused  by  the  erection  of  mill  dams.  Day  after 
day  went  by  and  the  senior  partner  seemingly, 
at  least,  paid  no  attention  to  the  cases  entrusted 
to  his  care.  And  so  Kirkwood,  realizing  that 
the  day  for  filing  declarations  or  petitions  was 
fast  approaching,  plunged  into  the  work  of 
drawing  up  the  necessary  papers. 

Finally  the  papers  were  all  drawn  up  to  the 
best  of  Kirkwood 's  ability  and  placed  on 
Bartley's  desk  for  examination  and  criticism. 
Evidently,  however,  the  old  lawyer  had  implicit 
confidence  in  his  ne\v  partner,  for  when  the  day 
came  for  the  filing  of  the  declarations  the 
papers  still  lay  undisturbed  on  his  desk.  With 
many  misgivings,  Kirkwood  was  obliged  to 
gather  up  the  documents,  take  them  to  the 
court  house,  and  file  them  without  so  much  as 
an  opinion  from  the  older  and  more  experienced 
lawyer.  The  days  which  followed  were  anxious 
ones  for  Kirkwood,  for  much  depended  on  his 
work.  If  there  were  defects  in  the  declarations 
there  would  be  demurrers  on  the  part  of  the 
defendants,  and  the  cases  might  be  postponed 
to  a  later  session  of  the  court  —  a  result  which 
would  certainly  displease  the  clients  of  the  firm. 
Great  was  his  relief  when  the  day  came  for  the 
opening  of  court  and  no  (laws  had  been  found  in 
his  work.  At  this  point,  also,  his  partner  took 
a  hand  and  argued  the  cases  before  the  court.41 


MEMBER  OF  THE  BAR  37 

This  experience,  while  trying,  gave  Kirkwood  a 
measure  of  confidence  in  his  own  ability  which 
enabled  him  to  attack  subsequent  tasks  with 
fewer  fears  of  failure. 

Amidst  such  activities  the  days  sped  by  and 
the  time  set  for  the  wedding  was  approaching. 
Late  in  December,  1843,  the  young  attorney 
repaired  to  the  Clark  home,  and  there  on  the 
twenty-seventh  day  of  the  month  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood  and  Jane  Clark  were  married.  The 
Clark  family  belonged  to  the  Methodist  Epis 
copal  Church,  the  members  of  which  denomi 
nation  in  that  particular  locality  depended  upon 
a  circuit  rider  for  their  preaching.  It  had  been 
hoped  that  he  would  perform  the  marriage 
ceremony.  But  for  some  reason  he  was  unable 
to  reach  that  part  of  his  circuit  in  time  to  be 
present  at  the  wedding.  And  so  from  the  town 
of  Lexington  not  far  away  a  minister  was 
brought,  who,  though  a  stranger  to  nearly 
everyone  in  attendance,  said  the  necessary 
words  in  an  entirely  satisfactory  manner.45 

The  young  people  began  housekeeping  at 
Mansfield  on  a  modest  scale,  in  a  four-room, 
frame  cottage.  It  did  not  take  long  for  them  to 
win  a  place  in  the  society  of  a  town  where 
everybody  knew  everybody  else.  Social  life  in 
a  small  Ohio  town  during  the  forties  was  simple 
and  wholehearted:  there  was  much  genuine 
neighborliness  and  very  little  formality.  There 


38  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

were  no  theaters  and  consequently  no  theater 
parties.  Formal  dinners  were  almost  unknown, 
hut  there  was  no  lack  of  that  true  hospitality 
which  caused  people  to  delight  in  having  their 
friends  sit  witli  them  at  table.  The  young 
people  occasionally  indulged  in  dancing  parties, 
but  for  Samuel  Kirkwood  this  form  of  recre 
ation  had  little  attraction  since  he  was  never 
very  proficient  as  a  dancer.  Indeed,  people  in 
those  days  did  not  greatly  feel  the  need  of  any 
particular  diversion  when  they  met  together 
for  an  evening.  The  opportunity  for  conver 
sation  was  generally  sufficient  to  cause  the 
hours  to  pass  pleasantly  in  a  gathering  of 
neighbors. 

The  churches  were  to  a  considerable  extent 
the  centers  of  community  activity.  Mrs.  Kirk- 
wood  soon  joined  the  Methodist  Church,  and 
while  her  husband,  whose  training  naturally 
inclined  him  toward  Presbyterianism,  did  not 
ally  himself  as  a  member  with  any  church,  he 
took  an  interest  in  church  affairs.  Sociables, 
quilting  bees,  and  the  like  afforded  much  real 
pleasure  to  the  participants  and  were  events  of 
considerable  social  importance.  Moreover,  his 
membership  in  the  Odd  Fellows  Lodge  brought 
Kirkwood  into  intimate  fraternal  relations 
with  a  number  of  the  leading  men  of  Mansfield. 
Thus,  the  newly  married  couple  soon  came  to 
feel  that  they  had  a  definite  place  in  the  life  of 
the  town.40 


MEMBER  OF  THE  BAR  39 

Kirkwood,  however,  had  very  little  oppor 
tunity  for  indulgence  in  recreation  and  social 
pleasures,  for  his  time  was  fully  occupied  at  the 
office.  He  soon  found  that  his  partner  had  been 
wise  in  throwing  him  at  once,  unaided,  into  the 
midst  of  a  sea  of  legal  problems.  During  the 
year  1844  Thomas  W.  Bartley  was  called  upon 
to  act  as  Governor  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  Wilson 
Shannon,  who  had  been  elected  chief  executive 
in  1842,  resigned  the  office  early  in  1844  to 
accept  the  position  of  Minister  to  Mexico,  and 
it  fell  to  Bartley,  as  Speaker  of  the  Senate  at 
the  preceding  session  of  the  General  Assembly, 
to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term.47  Consequently, 
much  of  his  time  during  that  year  was  spent  at 
the  seat  of  government,  and  Kirkwood  was  left 
almost  completely  in  charge  of  the  affairs  of 
the  firm.  Not  only  was  he  now  obliged  to 
prepare  the  declarations  and  other  necessary 
papers  without  advice  and  assistance  from  his 
partner,  but  it  also  devolved  upon  him  to  try 
the  cases  before  the  court.  But  if  the  work 
thus  heaped  upon  him  required  diligence  and 
long  hours,  it  also  served  to  prove  his  ability  to 
the  people  of  Mansfield  and  Richland  County 
and  to  bring  him  more  quickly  into  public  notice 
than  if  at  first  he  had  been  overshadowed  by 
the  presence  of  his  better  known  and  more 
experienced  partner. 

A  staunch  Democrat  in  politics,  Kirkwood 


40  SAMUEL  J.  K1RKWOOD 

had  by  this  time  begun  to  attract  the  attention 
of  local  members  of  his  party.  He  was  a  ready 
speaker  and  lie  enjoyed  the  public  discussion  of 
political  questions,  so  that  as  time  went  on  he 
came  to  be  relied  upon  to  make  stump  speeches 
at  the  small  towns  within  the  county.  Straight 
forward  and  convincing  rather  than  eloquent, 
lie  spoke  after  the  fashion  of  the  debater 
rather  than  that  of  the  orator.  For  this  trait 
he  owed  much  to  his  early  training  in  McLeod's 
school  and  in  the  literary  society  in  Washington, 
D.  C.  Another  lesson,  by  which  he  ever  after 
ward  endeavored  to  profit,  was  firmly  impressed 
on  his  mind  by  an  episode  which  occurred 
during  the  early  years  of  his  law  practice.  One 
afternoon  the  famous  Thomas  Corwin  made  a 
speech  in  Mansfield.  By  means  of  gestures  and 
grimaces,  stories  and  wit  and  humour  he  fur 
nished  rich  entertainment  for  his  audience, 
which  he  kept  almost  continuously  in  roars  of 
laughter.  The  speech  was  pronounced  by  one 
and  all,  except  perhaps  by  Corwin 's  most  con 
firmed  political  enemies,  to  have  been  a  huge 
success.  In  the  evening  Kirkwood  and  several 
other  young  men  of  the  place  called  upon 
Corwin  at  the  hotel.  What  was  their  surprise 
to  find  him,  not  elated  at  what  they  all  looked 
upon  as  a  triumph,  but  very  much  depressed 
and  downcast.  Conversation  lagged,  and  at 
length  the  distinguished  visitor  gave  his  callers 


MEMBER  OF  THE  BAR  41 

a  valuable  bit  of  advice.  " Young  gentlemen," 
he  said,  "learn  a  lesson.  I  believe  there  is 
enough  in  me  to  rank  with  the  statesmen  of  this 
country.  Unfortunately,  I  have  successfully 
adopted  the  methods  of  the  humorist  and  will  be 
remembered  as  Tom  Corwin  the  clown,  not  the 
statesman.  Always  address  your  audiences 
from  the  highest  plane  you  can  reach  and  fur 
nish  them  argument,  not  amusement. ' M8 

In  the  year  1845  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  received 
the  Democratic  nomination  for  Prosecuting 
Attorney  of  Richland  County,  and  after  a  brief 
campaign  was  elected  to  the  office.  This  was  a 
position  much  coveted  by  young  lawyers,  not 
only  for  the  experience  which  it  offered  in  the 
trying  of  criminal  cases,  but  also  for  the 
prestige  which  a  successful  term  in  that  office 
added  to  their  names  in  subsequent  years. 
Especially  was  it  an  honor  to  one  who  only  two 
years  before  had  been  admitted  to  the  bar;  but 
within  a  year  it  brought  to  him  a  painful  duty. 

One  day  in  the  summer  of  1846  a  tragedy  was 
enacted  in  the  streets  of  Mansfield:  Franklin 
Barker  was  mortally  stabbed  by  Eobert  M. 
Bowland.  It  was  a  sorry  affair  growing  out  of 
family  troubles.  The  two  men  were  brothers- 
in-law,  Barker's  wife  being  Bowland 's  sister. 
Both  were  sons  of  well-to-do  and  highly 
respected  parents,  the  Barker  family  dwelling 
at  Plymouth  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the 


42  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

county  and  tlie  Bowland  s  living  in  Mansfield. 
Franklin  Barker  was  one  of  the  best  liked  of 
the  promising  young  lawyers  in  Mansfield. 
Robert  Bowland,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a 
ne'er-do-well,  a  young  man  who  in  all  his  life 
had  done  scarcely  anything  to  support  himself 
or  reflect  credit  upon  the  family  name.  A  few 
years  earlier  he  had  gone  to  New  York  City 
where  he  had  taken  up  with  a  woman  of 
dissolute  character  whom  he  finally  married. 
Running  short  of  funds  and  with  characteristic 
disinclination  to  earn  a  living  by  his  own 
efforts,  he  returned  to  Mansfield  with  this 
woman  with  the  evident  intention  of  shifting  at 
least  a  part  of  the  burden  of  her  support  to  his 
parents. 

It  was  shortly  before  this  that  Frank  Barker 
had  married  Bowland 's  sister,  Margaretta.  He 
was  highly  incensed  when  his  scapegrace 
brother-in-law  brought  his  New  York  wife  to 
the  Bowland  home,  where,  if  Mrs.  Barker  were 
to  visit  her  parents,  she  must  associate  with  the 
unwelcome  intruder.  Not  content  with  the 
mere  expression  of  disapproval,  Barker  pro 
tested  vigorously,  and  no  doubt  with  little  tact 
or  discretion.  In  return  he  received  threats  of 
violence  if  he  did  not  desist  —  threats  that 
passed  unheeded.  And  then  occurred  the  catas 
trophe  which  horrified  all  Mansfield  and  vicinity 
and  set  up  such  a  buzz  of  excitement  as  had 
seldom  before  been  witnessed  in  the  county.4" 


MEMBER  OF  THE  BAR  43 

As  Prosecuting  Attorney  of  Kichland  County 
it  was  the  duty  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  to  bring 
the  murderer  to  justice,  a  task  which  would  try 
his  mettle  and  if  carried  out  successfully  would 
add  much  to  his  reputation.  But  in  this  case 
Kirkwood  had  a  more  vital  interest  and  it  was 
that  fact  which  necessarily  made  it  painful  for 
him  to  bear  the  responsibility  of  directing  the 
prosecution.  Frank  Barker,  the  murderer's 
victim,  was  one  of  the  county  attorney's  most 
intimate  friends,  one  of  his  very  first  acquaint 
ances  in  Mansfield.  With  him  he  had  studied 
law  in  Bartley's  office;  with  him  he  had  made 
the  long  journey  on  horseback  to  Cincinnati  to 
take  the  examinations  for  admission  to  the  bar; 
the  two  had  tentatively  considered  entering  into 
partnership  until  Judge  Bartley's  offer  put  an 
end  to  any  such  plans;  and  between  Jane 
Kirkwood  and  Margaretta  Barker  there  was  a 
warm  and  loving  friendship.  Consequently,  the 
killing  of  his  friend  was  a  severe  shock  to 
Kirkwood  and  left  him  with  a  sense  of  great 
personal  loss. 

Nevertheless,  he  shook  off  his  hesitancy  to 
take  up  a  case  in  which  his  feelings  were  so 
strongly  concerned,  and  assumed  charge  of  the 
prosecution.  The  murderer  had  been  promptly 
arrested  and  placed  in  confinement.  He  was 
next  indicted  by  the  grand  jury  and  the  case  was 
set  for  trial  at  the  November  term  of  court. 


44  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Partly  at  the  suggestion  of  Barker's  father  and 
partly  because  he  was  unwilling  to  rely  solely 
upon  his  own  knowledge  and  powers,  Kirkwood 
secured  able  assistance.  An  older  and  more 
experienced  prosecuting  attorney  from  an  ad 
joining  county  was  called  in;  while  from 
Sandusky  came  Ebenezer  Lane/'0  one  of  the 
ablest  lawyers  in  the  State  who  had  for  many 
years  been  a  Justice  of  the  Ohio  Supreme  Court. 
Kirkwood  himself  put  in  long  hours  studying 
cases,  gathering  evidence,  and  securing  the 
names  of  all  possible  witnesses;  and  he  fre 
quently  corresponded  with  the  Attorney  Gen 
eral  concerning  points  of  law.  Nothing  was 
overlooked  in  the  preparation  for  the  trial 
which  was  sure  to  be  a  battle  royal,  since 
Thomas  Ewing  and  Columbus  Delano,"1  both 
lawyers  of  talent  and  wide  reputation,  had  been 
secured  as  counsel  for  the  defendant. 

The  trial  was  held  in  a  crowded  court  room 
and  amid  the  breathless  interest  of  the  people 
of  the  entire  county.  Witnesses  were  examined 
and  cross-examined  for  nearly  a  week,  and 
finally  the  time  came  for  the  pleas  of  the  counsel 
for  the  defense  and  for  the  prosecution.  In  this 
matter  the  young  county  attorney  was  inclined 
to  defer  to  his  older  colleague,  Judge  Lane. 
"You  are  perfectly  competent  to  present  this 
case  as  it  should  be  presented  in  all  its  aspects 
to  the  jury,"  replied  Lane.  "I  have  no  repu- 


MEMBER  OF  THE  BAR  45 

tation  to  make  in  it,  I  was  got  here  to  help  you 
out  on  legal  questions  and  I  will  leave  the  case 
now  in  your  hands."  Mr.  Kirkwood  therefore 
made  the  closing  speech  to  the  jury. 

The  verdict  of  the  twelve  men  who  later  filed 
back  into  the  court  room  was  murder  in  the  first 
degree;  and  shortly  afterward  the  judge  sen 
tenced  Robert  Bowland  to  receive  the  extreme 
penalty  of  hanging.  Because  the  murderer's 
parents  were  old  and  respected  citizens  of  the 
community,  however,  even  the  members  of  the 
Barker  family  were  satisfied  when  the  Governor 
of  the  State  commuted  this  sentence  to  life 
imprisonment.52 

The  outcome  was  a  distinct  victory  for  Kirk- 
wood.  "I  offer  my  congratulations,  for  the 
result  of  the  case,  as  a  great  act  of  public 
justice",  wrote  the  veteran  lawyer,  Ebenezer 
Lane,  who  declined  to  accept  any  compensation 
for  his  services  if  it  would  diminish  the  sum  to 
be  received  by  Kirkwood.  "What  the  Execu 
tive  may  do,  is  of  no  peculiar  moment  to  us,  as 
long  as  the  Judicial  Department  has  done  its 
duty.  .  .  .  But  I  more  particularly  con 
gratulate  you,  for  the  success  of  your  Profes 
sional  Efforts.  There  is  but  one  opinion  as  to 
that  and  that  most  widely  spread  &  its  results 
cannot  but  be  felt,  in  the  reputation  thus  hon 
estly  won,  &  in  the  confidence  which  the  Public 
will  gladly  bestow  upon  a  meritorious  Public 
Officer."53 


46  SAMUEL  J.  KIHKWOOD 

Not  least  among  the  rewards  which  came  to 
Kirkwood  was  the  gratitude  of  Margaretta 
Barker,  the  young  widow  whose  husband  had 
been  slain  by  the  hand  of  her  own  brother. 
From  the  home  of  her  husband's  parents  at 
Plymouth,  where  she  had  gone  in  her  sorrow, 
she  wrote  many  letters  of  appreciation  for  what 
the  young  attorney  had  done,  not  only  in  the 
securing  of  justice  but  also  in  acting  as  admin 
istrator  of  her  husband's  estate.  And  at  one 
time  she  sent  him  the  cane  which  Franklin 
Barker  had  carried,  "not",  as  she  said,  "as  a 
token  of  remembrance,  (that  you  will  not  need) 
but  as  a  token  of  my  gratitude".54 


V 

THE  OHIO  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  AT 
COLUMBUS 

THE  years  which  followed  the  Bowland  trial 
witnessed  the  fulfillment  of  Judge  Lane's 
prophecy.  Until  the  year  1849  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood  continued  to  hold  the  office  of  Prose 
cuting  Attorney  of  Richland  County,  perform 
ing  his  duties  to  the  best  of  his  ability  and 
giving  general  satisfaction.  In  many  of  his 
cases  he  was  opposed  by  John  Sherman  and 
others  with  whom  he  had  contested  in  the  moot 
court  in  former  days.55  At  the  same  time  he 
did  his  share  and  more  of  the  work  which  came 
to  the  firm  of  Bartley  and  Kirkwood,  and 
gained  the  respect  of  the  older  lawyers  of  the 
Mansfield  bar.  Thus  he  came  to  be  well  known 
throughout  the  county;  and  the  high  regard  in 
which  he  was  held  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
at  a  nonpartisan  election  held  on  the  first 
Monday  in  April,  1850,  he  was  chosen  to  sit 
with  a  group  of  men  upon  whom  devolved 
the  important  duty  of  revising  the  Constitution 
of  the  Commonwealth. 

For  nearly  half  a  century  the  people  of  Ohio 

47 


48  SAMUEL  J.  KIHKWOOD 

had  boon  governed  under  tlio  provisions  of  the 
Constitution  drawn  up  in  1802  —  an  instrument 
which  expressed  the  best  political  ideas  of  the 
time  at  which  it  was  made.  It  was  compara 
tively  brief,  and  very  broad  powers  were  con 
form!  upon  the  legislature.50  But  with  the 
passing  of  the  years  new  and  unforeseen  prob 
lems  arose,  and  there  was  nothing  to  guard  the 
people  from  the  evil  results  of  unwise  yielding 
to  popular  and  legislative  fancies.  There  was 
no  limitation,  for  instance,  on  the  amount  to 
which  the  State  might  become  indebted ;  and  on 
this  account  the  Commonwealth  by  1850  was 
saddled  with  a  debt  of  nearly  nineteen  million 
dollars  incurred  for  the  purpose  of  building  and 
aiding  public  improvements.  The  people  of 
Ohio,  like  those  of  the  neighboring  States,  had 
gone  wild  over  the  building,  first  of  roads, 
canals,  and  harbors,  and  later  of  railroads. 
When  private  capital  flowed  into  these  enter 
prises  too  slowly  to  satisfy  the  demand  for 
transportation  facilities,  the  citizens  were  only 
too  willing  that  the  State  should  take  a  hand. 
All  this  was  very  well  for  those  who  were  able 
to  profit  by  the  increased  values  and  the  pros 
perity  attendant  upon  the  rapid  extension  of 
means  of  transportation.  But  those  who  could 
see  no  direct  personal  benefit  and  those  who 
came  into  the  State  in  later  years  found  the 
taxes  levied  to  pay  the  interest  on  this  enormous 


CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION         49 

debt  increasingly  burdensome.  In  time  there 
arose  an  insistent  demand  for  relief  or  at  least 
for  some  assurance  that  the  State  would  not  be 
placed  under  additional  obligations.57 

In  like  manner  the  Constitution  of  1802  was 
silent  on  the  subject  of  corporations  —  a  subject 
which  at  that  time  was  scarcely  considered  of 
any  importance.  The  legislature  was  left  free 
to  deal  with  these  growing  capitalistic  organ 
izations  as  it  chose.  Under  a  system  of  special 
legislation  grave  abuses  arose.  Free  franchises 
were  sometimes  granted;  corporations  were 
largely  exempted  from  taxation;  and,  in  the 
belief  that  every  encouragement  should  be  given 
to  these  enterprises,  powers  were  conferred 
which  soon  assumed  monopolistic  proportions, 
and  became  oppressive  to  the  people.  The  need 
of  some  limit  on  the  power  of  the  legislature  in 
this  respect  had  therefore  become  apparent. 

Public  sentiment  had  also  changed  in  regard 
to  banks  and  banking,  taxation,  legal  procedure, 
and  the  framework  of  the  State  government.58 
In  fact,  a  Constitution  embodying  chiefly  the 
ideas  of  the  Eevolutionary  period  had  in  the 
course  of  fifty  years  become  inadequate  to  meet 
the  needs  of  a  far  more  highly  developed 
community.  New  evils  demanded  new  safe 
guards,  while  altered  conditions  required  new 
grants  of  power  to  the  government.  And  so,  in 
accordance  with  an  act  passed  by  the  General 


50  SAMUEL  J.  KIRK  WOOD 

Assembly  on  February  23,  1850,  delegates  were 
elected  on  the  first  Monday  of  April,  and  a 
constitutional  convention  convened  in  Columbus 
on  Monday,  the  sixth  day  of  May.59 

The  old  statehouse,  which  two  years  later  was 
consumed  by  fire,  was  a  two-story  brick  struc 
ture  standing  at  the  corner  of  State  and  High 
streets.  The  square  roof  culminated  in  "a 
balcony  in  the  center,  whence  rose  a  spire  one 
hundred  and  six  feet  from  the  ground.  Above 
the  balcony  hung  a  well-toned  bell,  whose  clear 
ringing  sounds  were  heard  in  the  winter  season, 
calling  the  people's  representatives  to  their 
duties  in  the  legislative  halls.'"10  It  was  in  the 
hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the 
lower  floor  of  this  building  that  the  delegates  to 
the  Convention,  one  hundred  and  eight  in  num 
ber,  gathered  to  perform  the  high  function  of 
revising  the  Constitution. 

Many  able  and  prominent  men  were  members 
of  this  Convention.  Best  known,  perhaps,  was 
the  venerable  Peter  Hitchcock  from  Geauga 
County,  who  had  served  in  both  houses  of  the 
Ohio  State  legislature  and  in  the  lower  house  of 
Congress,  and  who  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  had  sat  on  the  supreme  bench  of  the 
State.  Then  there  was  Joseph  Vance  of  Cham 
paign  County  whose  legislative  experience  in 
Ohio 'and  in  the  Federal  House  of  Representa 
tives  was  even  more  extensive.  He  had  also 


CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION         51 

been  Governor  of  Ohio.  Henry  Stanberry  of 
Franklin  County  had  served  since  1846  as 
Attorney  General  of  the  Commonwealth.  Alto 
gether,  about  fifty,  or  nearly  half  of  the  mem 
bers,  had  served  in  one  or  both  of  the  houses  of 
the  General  Assembly;  at  least  eight  had 
represented  the  people  of  their  districts  as 
Congressmen ;  while  several  others  had  occupied 
administrative  and  judicial  positions  in  the 
State  government.  Furthermore,  in  subsequent 
years  still  others  were  destined  to  serve  the 
people  of  the  State  and  the  Nation  in  various 
important  offices.01 

The  average  age  of  the  members  was  forty- 
five  years  and  the  average  period  of  residence 
in  the  State  was  thirty  years.  Thus  the  Con 
vention  was  made  up  of  men  of  mature  minds 
who  were  qualified  by  long  acquaintance  with 
the  needs  of  the  Commonwealth  to  pass  intelli 
gent  judgments  upon  the  problems  of  govern 
ment.  About  forty  were  lawyers  and  almost  an 
equal  number  were  farmers,  but  there  were  also 
a  number  of  physicians,  merchants,  editors,  and 
men  of  other  trades  and  occupations  which 
made  the  assemblage  fairly  representative  of 
all  the  interests  of  society.62  In  fact,  the  people 
of  Ohio  could  scarcely  have  selected  a  group  of 
men  who  were  better  prepared  by  ability, 
experience,  and  training  to  perform  the  duties 
set  before  them. 


52  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

1  'At  11.  o'clock,  A.  M.,  [on  May  6th]  Mr. 
Sawyer  advanced  to  the  Clerk's  desk,  and  said: 
(ientlemen  of  the  Convention,  for  the  purpose 
of  a  temporary  organization,  I  would  call  Mr. 
Larwill  to  the  chair.  "t;:{  With  the  adoption  of 
this  suggestion  the  Ohio  Constitutional  Con 
vention  of  1850-1851  began  its  lengthy  deliber 
ations.  All  but  four  of  the  members  answered 
to  their  names  at  the  roll  call  and  presented 
their  certificates  of  election,  among  them  being 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  representing  Crawford 
and  Richland  counties.  His  two  associates 
from  the  same  district  were  Richard  W.  Cahill 
of  Liberty  Corners  in  Crawford  County  and 
James  P.  Henderson  of  Newville  in  Richland 
County. 

After  electing  William  Medill  as  president 
and  effecting  a  permanent  organization  the 
Convention  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  first 
two  weeks  in  discussing  questions  of  procedure 
and  other  matters,  such  as  the  publication  of  the 
debates  of  the  Convention.  In  all  this  useless 
controversy  and  waste  of  time  Kirkwood  took 
little  part.  On  May  14th  when  certain  features 
of  the  rules  of  procedure  were  under  discussion 
he  made  the  pertinent  suggestion  that  the  Con 
vention  could  not  well  act  in  this  matter  until 
the  report  of  the  committee  on  rules,  then  being 
printed,  was  laid  before  them.  Later  he  raised 
his  voice  against  permitting  partisanship  to 


CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION         53 

further  protract  the  debate  concerning  the 
printing  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention. 
His  remarks  were  brief,  being  in  sharp  contrast 
to  the  long-drawn-out  speeches  of  other  mem 
bers.  He  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  privileges  and  elections  and  was  given  a 
place  on  the  committee  on  the  judicial  depart 
ment.64 

Even  after  the  Convention  settled  down  to  the 
real  business  for  which  it  was  called,  the  mem 
ber  from  Mansfield  joined  only  once  or  twice  in 
the  discussions  until  the  question  of  legislative 
sessions  was  being  debated  on  May  28th. 
Under  the  old  Constitution  the  General  Assem 
bly  had  held  sessions  annually  and  there  was 
strong  support  in  the  Convention  for  the  reten 
tion  of  this  requirement.  The  chief  arguments 
in  favor  of  the  plan  were  that  only  by  meeting 
annually  could  the  legislature  successfully  and 
intelligently  adjust  taxation  to  the  needs  of  the 
State  and  guard  the  public  treasury;  that  laws 
were  often  defective  and  therefore  there  should 
be  frequent  opportunities  for  revision ;  and  that 
public  sentiment  was  wedded  to  the  holding  of 
annual  sessions.  In  a  speech  of  considerable 
length  Mr.  Kirkwood  challenged  these  argu 
ments. 

In  the  first  place,  he  showed  very  clearly  that 
it  would  be  as  easy  for  the  legislature  to  esti 
mate  and  levy  the  taxes  necessary  for  a  two- 


54  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

year  as  for  a  one-year  period.  Moreover,  it 
was  not  necessary  that  the  legislature  should 
act  as  a  guard  over  the  public  treasury  by 
examining  the  accounts  of  all  the  State  officers. 
"Would  not  a  small  board,  organized  for  the 
purpose,  (and  charged  with  no  other  duties) 
discharge  this  duty  more  satisfactorily  and 
more  fully  than  a  committee  appointed  by  the 
Legislature!"  he  asked.  "If  this  matter  of 
supervision  were  an  insurmountable  difficulty 
in  the  minds  of  gentlemen  here,  such  a  board  as 
he  had  referred  to  would  obviate  it :  it  would  be 
much  less  expensive  and  much  more  competent, 
and  much  more  laborious  and  efficient  in  the 
discharge  of  its  duties  than  any  legislative 
committee. ' ' 

As  far  as  the  need  for  frequent  revision  of 
the  statutes  was  concerned,  he  felt  that  "it 
wrould  be  better  to  let  the  people  have  an  oppor 
tunity  to  understand  the  laws,  before  they 
elected  men  to  revise  and  amend  them. ' '  At  the 
same  time  he  was  of  the  opinion  that  with 
sessions  held  only  once  in  two  years  "the  people 
would  be  more  careful  to  select  mature  minds, 
to  select  careful  and  prudent  men",  and  thus 
better  legislation  would  result.  And  finally,  he 
could  say  that  nineteen-twentieths  of  his  con 
stituents,  without  regard  to  party,  were  in 
favor  of  biennial  legislative  sessions/15 

A  few  days  later  when  the  same  subject  was 


CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION         55 

being  debated,  with  frequent  quotations  from 
Coke  and  Macaulay  and  Jefferson,  Mr.  Kirk- 
wood  again  took  the  floor.  In  the  course  of  his 
speech  he  summed  up  his  attitude  toward  the 
whole  question  in  the  following  words : 

The  gentleman  from  Hamilton  has  argued  this 
question  as  if  it  were  a  question  of  government  or  no 
government,  of  order  or  anarchy.  Now,  sir,  this  is 
not  the  question  at  issue.  It  is  merely  a  question  as 
to  how  often  it  is  necessary  and  proper  that  the  people 
should  gather  together  by  their  Representatives  to 
enact  new  or  amend  or  repeal  old  laws  —  whether  it 
is  better  and  safer  that  this  should  be  done  annually 
or  bienially.  I  apprehend  that  while  our  General 
Assembly  is  not  in  session,  we  have  a  government  — 
the  law  making  power  is  in  the  hands  of  the  people, 
where  it  is  safe,  or  rather  perhaps  is  dormant,  and 
cannot  be  used  to  their  prejudice;  but  the  Executive 
and  Judicial  departments  are  in  full  operation,  ex 
tending,  by  means  of  existing  laws,  protection  to  the 
rights  and  interests  of  the  people.  It  strikes  me  that 
there  is  a  misconception  on  the  part  of  some  gentle 
men  who  have  argued  this  question  and  who  seem  to 
be  impressed  wdth  the  idea  that  it  is  only  during  the 
sessions  of  our  General  Assembly  that  the  people 
possess  any  power.  I  think  this  is  incorrect;  the 
sovereignty  —  the  law  making  power  is  in  the  people 
at  all  times,  except  during  those  sessions;  at  these 
times  it  is  in  the  hands  of  agents  and  returns  again 
to  the  people  as  soon  as  the  agents  cease  to  act.  .  .  . 
It  is  no  less  true,  sir,  in  popular  than  in  monarchial 


56  SAMUEL  J.  K1RKWOOD 

governments,  that  the  Legislature  is  the  channel 
through  which  power  is  drawn  from  the  sovereign,  it 
is  with  us  the  channel  through  which  power  is  drawn 
from  the  people,  and  I  wish  to  make  it  as  narrow,  and 
open  it  as  seldom  as  is  consistent  with  safety.  We  are 
here  to  narrow  that  channel,  and  I  hope,  sir,  to  pro 
vide  that  it  shall  not  be  opened  more  frequently  than 
once  in  two  years. (!t; 

Nearly  two  weeks  passed  before  the  Ricliland 
County  delegate  again  expressed  his  views  at 
any  length.  That  he  was  keenly  interested  in 
the  proceedings  from  day  to  day,  however,  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  he  offered  amendments 
to  committee  reports  on  such  subjects  as  the 
terms  of  State  officers,  the  disqualifications  of 
electors,  the  granting  of  corporate  powers,  the 
taking  of  private  property  for  public  use,  and 
the  qualifications  and  veto  power  of  the  Gov 
ernor/17  In  each  case  his  aim  was  either  to 
avoid  ambiguous  provisions  or  to  avert  the 
possibility  of  abuses  such  as  had  arisen  under 
the  old  Constitution. 

On  the  twelfth  day  of  June  the  liability  of 
individuals  in  corporations  was  the  topic  of 
debate,  and  on  this  subject  Air.  Kirkwood  made 
one  of  his  longest  speeches.  Before  turning  his 
attention  to  the  point  at  issue  he  announced 
that  he  "would  take  occasion  to  travel,  contrary 
to  his  usual  custom,  somewhat  out  of  the  record, 
and  make  some  remarks  on  matters  and  things 


CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION         57 

in  general",  a  privilege  which  other  members 
claimed  almost  at  will.  The  particular  thing  to 
which  he  wished  to  call  attention  was  the 
tendency  of  some  members  of  the  Convention  to 
apologize  for  and  decry  all  exhibitions  of  party 
feeling.  He  failed  to  see  the  propriety  of  such 
a  course,  and  "he  had  but  little  faith  in  the  no- 
party  professions  of  men  who,  but  for  their 
known  party  predilections,  would  not  have  been 
members  of  this  body. ' '  He  believed  that  ' '  the 
names  made  use  of  to  designate  parties,  were 
not  mere  sounds,  meaning  nothing",  but  they 
stood  for  great  fundamental  principles.  Nei 
ther  of  the  political  parties  was  merely  "a 
number  of  men  combined  together  for  the  pur 
pose  of  getting  office. ' '  Therefore,  he  would  not 
refrain  from  characterizing  issues  before  the 
Convention  as  either  Democratic  or  Whig  in 
spirit.  "It  was  an  opinion  which  he  had  a  right 
to  entertain  and  express,  and  upon  all  proper 
occasions  he  would  express  it  —  and  if  his 
action  should  run  counter  to  those  principles, 
any  gentleman  on  this  side,  or  the  other  side  of 
the  hall  could  tell  him  that  he  was  traveling 
from  the  democratic  doctrine."  In  all  this  "he 
used  the  term  partizanship  in  the  better  sense 
of  the  word ;  in  this  sense :  that  it  was  an  advo 
cacy  of  principle  and  not  of  a  party  organiza 
tion  for  the  sake  of  office. ' ' 

The   speech  which  followed  this   digressive 


58  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

introduction  was  an  able  defense  of  the  neces 
sity  of  holding  shareholders  of  corporations  to 
a  rigid  liability  for  the  debts  of  the  corpora 
tions.  He  was  in  favor,  however,  of  making 
some  distinction  between  corporations  formed 
for  religions,  charitable,  or  literary  purposes, 
or  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  and  operating 
works  of  internal  improvement,  and  corpora 
tions  organized  for  the  sole  object  of  bringing 
financial  profits  to  the  shareholders.08 

During  the  succeeding  week  Kirkwood  spoke 
briefly  on  a  number  of  subjects.  He  argued 
that  persons  through  whose  land  a  right  of  way 
was  sought  should  have  the  right  to  the  assess 
ment  of  damages  by  a  jury  in  the  regular 
courts.  Provision  for  an  efficient  militia, 
capable  of  being  called  into  service  in  case  of 
emergency,  received  his  approval;  and  at  the 
same  time  he  could  see  no  more  reason  for 
excusing  persons  from  military  duty  because  of 
conscientious  scruples  than  for  granting  other 
individuals  exemption  from  taxation  for  the 
same  cause.  In  common  with  a  large  majority 
of  the  people  of  the  State,  he  heartily  favored  a 
limitation  of  the  State  debt,  and  he  would  have 
this  limitation  placed  in  the  Constitution  in 
such  unmistakable  terms  that  there  could  be  no 
misunderstanding  or  evasion/'9 

In  the  midst  of  the  discussion  of  issues  of 
vital  importance  a  furor  was  occasionally 


CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION         59 

raised  over  very  trivial  incidents  or  remarks. 
On  Monday  morning,  June  17th,  Mr.  Mitchell 
"presented  the  petition  of  Robert  B.  Mitchell 
and  61  other  citizens  of  Knox  county,  praying 
that  the  Convention  insert  a  clause  in  the  con 
stitution  which  will  forever  prevent  the  issue  or 
circulation  of  bills  of  credit,  bank  bills,  or  other 
paper  as  money. ' '  This  memorial  was  promptly 
referred  to  the  proper  committee  and  would 
have  attracted  no  further  interest  had  not  Mr. 
Manon  called  attention  to  the  language  used  in 
a  portion  of  the  petition.  "There  are  certain 
members  elected  to  this  body  who  have  proved 
recreant  to  their  trust,"  read  the  objectionable 
clause,  "and  your  petitioners  would  remind 
them  of  the  fate  of  Judas  and  the  doom  of 
Arnold. "  Immediately  there  was  a  great 
clamor.  Members  declaimed  against  the  use  of 
such  disrespectful  language :  they  regarded  the 
petition  as  an  insult  to  the  Convention. 
Charges  and  countercharges  were  hurled  back 
and  forth,  and  it  was  three  or  four  days  before 
the  excitement  entirely  died  away. 

Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  was  not  one  who  was 
overwhelmed  with  his  dignity  as  a  member  of 
the  Convention.  "I  have,  perhaps,  peculiar 
opinions  upon  the  subject  of  petitions, "  he 
said,  "and  wish  this  matter  placed  in  such  a 
shape  as  to  test  the  opinions  of  others.  I  would 
' suggest'  to  gentlemen  who  think  this  petition 


60  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

disrespectful,  the  propriety  of  the  appoint 
ment  of  a  committee  to  examine  all  petitions 
before  presented,  and  'purge'  them  of  every 
thing  that  may  be  deemed  derogatory  to  this 
exceedingly  grave  and  dignified  body,  and  who 
might  perhaps,  fix  a  very  respectful  form  in 
which  our  constituents  may  be  very  graciously 
permitted  to  address  us."  Later,  when  the 
debate  had  been  prolonged  to  an  absurd  length 
and  certain  members  had  descended  to  petty 
personalities,  the  member  from  Mansfield  re 
marked:  "I  have  always  thought  that  the  best 
mode  to  protect  our  own  dignity,  was  to  be 
dignified  ourselves,  and  to  be  so  upon  all 
occasions."7" 

While  the  question  of  whether  this  petition 
should  be  received  or  rejected  was  occupying 
much  time  the  Convention  was  also  deliberating 
upon  the  problem  of  providing  a  sinking  fund 
for  the  extinguishment  of  the  enormous  State 
debt.  Although  he  did  not  as  a  rule  believe  in 
embodying  legislation  in  the  Constitution,  Mr. 
Kirkwood  argued  that  in  the  light  of  experi 
ence  this  was  a  matter  which  could  not  safely  be 
entrusted  to  the  General  Assembly.  "I  think 
the  proposition  that  we  shall  pay  our  debt 
within  some  definite  time,  and  by  some  well 
defined  rule,  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  find 
admission  into  our  Constitution."  He  thought 
that  the  people  would  cheerfully  pay  "the 


CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION         61 

necessary  taxes  to  rid  themselves  eventually  of 
the  whole  burthen ",  but  he  believed  that  unless 
some  such  plan  were  adopted  they  would  in 
desperation  repudiate  the  State  debt  entirely.71 

Being  a  member  of  the  committee  on  the 
judiciary  and  a  lawyer  by  profession,  Kirk- 
wood  was  naturally  much  interested  in  all  sub 
jects  having  to  do  with  the  judicial  department 
of  the  government,  and  especially  in  the  pro 
visions  relative  to  district  courts.  He  was  in 
favor  of  having  these  courts  held  in  each  county, 
instead  of  merely  at  two  or  three  points  in  the 
district.  At  the  same  time  he  was  willing  that 
the  times  and  places  of  holding  district  courts 
should  be  fixed  by  the  legislature.  Throughout 
a  long  and  intermittent  argument,  extending 
over  several  days,  it  was  his  contention  that  the 
question  should  be  left  open  for  determination 
according  to  the  desires  of  the  people  of  each 
particular  district,  and  that  the  legislature 
should  be  left  to  make  its  decision  unhampered 
by  any  constitutional  limitation. 

The  debate  at  times  became  somewhat  heated, 
and  on  one  occasion  it  was  declared  that  the 
opposition  to  a  certain  measure  came  from 
' i  half  -lawyers  and  pettifoggers"  -the  intima 
tion  being  that  this  characterization  applied  as 
much  to  those  members  opposing  the  measure 
in  the  Convention  as  to  outside  opponents. 
Mr.  Kirkwood,  who  was  in  the  opposition,  did 


62  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

not  believe  such  an  insinuation  had  been  in 
tended.  But,  said  he,  "I  wish  to  say,  further, 
that  I  do  not  think  these  gentlemen  have  the 
power  to  assign  me  my  place.  That  has  been 
done  by  the  people  amongst  whom  I  live  —  in 
my  own  neighborhood;  and  I  am  willing  any 
gentlemen  should  enquire  of  them,  if  he  would 
know  my  standing."72 

The  Convention  had  now  been  in  session  for 
nearly  two  months,  meeting  twice  a  day  —  at 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  at  three  in  the 
afternoon.  Progress  had  been  made,  but  thus 
far  the  end  was  not  in  sight.  While  the  debates 
as  a  whole  were  of  a  high  order,  members  had 
frequently  occupied  an  undue  amount  of  time 
with  speeches  bristling  with  classical  allusions, 
poetic  quotations,  and  figures  of  speech - 
speeches  which  sounded  well  enough  but  con 
tributed  almost  nothing  to  the  determination  of 
the  questions  under  discussion. 

Meanwhile,  it  was  not  all  work  and  study  for 
the  delegates,  for  the  social  side  was  not  neg 
lected.  The  wives  of  many  of  the  members, 
Mrs.  Kirkwood  among  them,  availed  themselves 
of  the  opportunity  to  spend  at  least  a  portion  of 
the  time  with  their  husbands  at  Columbus.  The 
capital  city,  with  its  public  buildings  and  its 
good  shops  and  hotels,  with  its  musical  and 
dramatic  entertainments  and  its  cultured  soci 
ety,  held  out  many  attractions  to  those  whose 


CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION         63 

lives  were  spent  in  the  smaller,  out-of-the-way 
places.  And  so  there  was  a  succession  of 
pleasant  evening  parties  while  the  Convention 
was  in  session.73 

But  early  in  July  there  came  a  sudden  breaK 
in  the  deliberations  of  the  assembly.  The 
Asiatic  cholera,  which  had  so  terrified  the  city 
by  its  ravages  during  the  previous  year,  again 
made  its  appearance  and  spread  with  great 
rapidity.  Eesidents  by  the  hundreds  fled  from 
the  city.  It  was  estimated  that  of  a  population 
of  nearly  eighteen  thousand  about  one-fourth 
departed  in  haste  at  the  reappearance  of  the 
dreaded  pestilence.74  It  was  not  to  be  expected 
that  the  members  of  the  Convention  would 
remain  unmoved  in  the  midst  of  such  a  panic 
when  no  man  could  feel  sure  that  he  was  safe 
from  the  touch  of  the  fatal  disease.  Gathering 
up  their  baggage  they  hurriedly  departed  to 
their  homes,  and  soon  it  was  evident  that  a 
quorum  would  be  difficult  to  obtain. 

It  was  no  longer  a  question  of  adjournment 
or  no  adjournment,  as  Mr.  Kirkwood  pointed 
out,  for  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention  must 
come  to  an  end  when  there  ceased  to  be  a 
quorum.75  It  merely  remained  to  decide  upon 
the  place  and  the  time  for  reconvening.  And  so 
after  some  debate  it  was  decided  to  meet  again 
on  the  first  Monday  in  December  in  Cincinnati. 
To  meet  at  Columbus  at  the  time  selected  was 


64  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

practically  out  of  the  question,  since  the  legis 
lature  would  convene  at  that  place  on  the  same 
clay  and  there  was  no  other  hall  in  the  city 
suited  to  the  needs  of  the  Convention.  Cincin 
nati  was  chosen  because  it  was  the  most  acces 
sible  point  and  offered  the  best  accommodations 
for  a  meeting  during  the  winter  season. 


VI 

CONSTITUTION-MAKING  IN  CINCINNATI 

AFTEK  a  five-months  interval  Samuel  Kirkwood 
set  out  for  Cincinnati  late  in  November. 
Traveling  in  a  stagecoach  by  way  of  Newark, 
he  passed  through  a  prosperous  settlement  of 
New  Englanders  surrounding  the  town  of 
Granville,  where  for  a  time  Mrs.  Kirkwood  had 
attended  a  seminary.  Later,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Columbus,  the  road  ran  through  land  which 
was  "under  a  very  poor  state  of  cultivation ", 
chiefly,  as  the  traveler  thought,  because  it  was 
"owned  in  large  tracts  by  rich  men  who  do  not 
labor  and  who  rent  out  their  land  to  poor 
tenants.  "76 

Considerable  time  was  spent  by  the  Mans 
field  delegate  in  sightseeing  during  the  first 
few  days  after  his  arrival  in  the  Queen  City. 
The  boat  landing  was  to  him  a  place  of  much 
interest.  "There  are",  he  wrote  to  Mrs. 
Kirkwood,  "usually  from  12  to  20  steam  boats 
lying  there  some  arriving  and  others  departing 
and  whole  acres  of  flat  boats  and  the  landing  is 
all  the  time  covered  with  a  promiscuous  throng 
of  men  women  and  children  black  white  and 

G  65 


66  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

mixed,  cattle  hogs  carts,  drays  wagons  dogs  and 
a  little  of  everything  under  the  sun  in  the  way 
of  merchandise  and  there  is  usually  enough  of 
swearing  done  in  any  one  hour  to  satisfy  a 
moderate  man  like  myself  for  a  week."  He 
also  visited  the  slaughter  houses  and  "of  all  the 
horrible  and  disgusting  sights"  he  ever  beheld 
those  there  witnessed  were  pronounced  the 
worst.  On  another  afternoon,  by  way  of  con 
trast,  he  spent  several  hours  at  the  Art  Union, 
where  he  found  real  pleasure.  Especially  did 
he  admire  Powers'  much  discussed  statue  of 
the  "Greek  Slave"  girl,  a  large  painting  en 
titled  "The  Last  Victim  of  the  Deluge",  and 
the  portrait  of  a  young  girl  "that  looked  so 
sweet  and  tempting  that  had  there  not  been  so 
many  persons  present  I  believe  I  should  have 
kissed  it." 

A  lecture  by  Cassius  M.  Clay  of  Kentucky  on 
the  "Theory  of  Morals",  to  which  Kirkwood 
listened  one  evening,  led  him  to  confide  to  his 
wife  the  statement  that  "the  more  I  observe  of 
those  who  are  called  great  men  the  more  am  I 
convinced  that  there  is  really  less  difference 
among  men  than  is  generally  supposed."  With 
men  as  with  mountains  it  was  often  a  case  of 
distance  lending  enchantment  to  the  view. 

Cincinnati  on  the  whole  was  not  a  very  agree 
able  city  to  Kirkwood.  Soft  coal  was  burnod 
almost  exclusively,  and  the  smoke  and  soot 


CONSTITUTION-MAKING  67 

made  everything  black  and  dirty.  "I  suppose ", 
he  said,  "the  dirt  arising  from  the  coal  smoke 
is  the  reason  that  the  ladies  here  dress  so 
plainly  on  the  streets.  I  am  disposed  to  think 
from  what  I  have  seen  that  the  ladies  of  Mans 
field  wear  richer  street  dresses  than  the  ladies 
here  do."  Moreover  the  city  water  was  of  a 
very  poor  quality.  "At  this  time",  he  wrote, 
"the  river  is  on  the  rise  and  the  water  we  drink 
shows  it.  It  has  a  pretty  liberal  mixture  of  mud 
in  it  and  I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  the 
Cincinnatians  are  compelled  to  use  if  they  live 
long  more  than  the  peck  of  dirt  which  is  said  to 
be  assigned  to  each  of  us."  Nevertheless,  the 
wives  of  several  members  of  the  Convention 
had  accompanied  their  husbands,  and  he  urged 
Mrs.  Kirkwood  to  join  him  as  soon  as  he  could 
find  suitable  quarters  —  a  desire  which  she 
later  gratified.77 

The  Cincinnati  session  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  was  held  in  "College  Hall"  in  a 
building  owned  by  Cincinnati  College,  located 
on  the  east  side  of  Walnut  Street  between 
Fourth  and  Fifth  Streets.  The  hall  was  fitted 
up  for  convention  purposes  chiefly  at  State 
expense.  In  the  same  building  were  the  rooms 
of  the  Young  Men's  Mercantile  Library  Associ 
ation,  the  free  use  of  which  was  extended  to  the 
delegates,  who  were  also  invited  to  attend  lec 
tures  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  asso 
ciation.78 


68  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

On  December  2,  1850,  the  Convention  re 
sumed  its  interrupted  deliberations.  During 
the  succeeding  weeks  and  months  Mr.  Kirk- 
wood  adhered  to  his  custom  of  speaking  seldom, 
and  only  when  he  had  something  definite  to  say. 
The  first  subject  to  claim  his  attention  was  that 
of  taxation,  upon  the  various  aspects  of  which 
his  views  were  expressed  in  the  following 
words : 

My  idea  of  the  true  principle  of  levying  taxes  is, 
that  the  means  of  the  citizens  should  all  be  taken  to 
form  a  basis  of  taxation.  I  lay  it  down,  in  the  first 
place,  as  a  general  principle,  that  everything  should 
be  taxed,  without  exception. 

I  do  not  understand  whether  the  proviso  now  pro 
posed  to  be  inserted,  expressly  requires,  that  any 
property  shall  be  exempted.  The  difficulty  heretofore 
has  been,  that  the  Legislature  have  been  authorized  to 
make  bargains  with  corporations,  and  to  determine 
whether  their  stock  should  be  taxed  or  not,  or  to  what 
extent  it  should  be  taxed.  Now,  I  do  not  believe  that 
the  Legislature  should  have  the  right  to  tax  the 
property  of  corporations  in  one  way,  and  the  property 
belonging  to  the  citizens  of  the  State  generally  in 
another  way. 

Heretofore,  credits  have  escaped  taxation  entirely. 
I  do  not  think  credits  ought  to  escape  taxation.  1  do 
not  see,  if  I  hold  the  notes  of  individuals  to  the  amount 
of  $10,000,  why  I  should  not  be  taxed  for  them.  ANY 
have  taxes  upon  property,  and  upon  money  at  interest, 
and  whv  should  we  not  tax  credits? 


CONSTITUTION-MAKING  69 

I  desire  to  see  the  Constitution  provide  expressly 
what  description  of  property  shall  be  exempted,  so 
that  nothing  but  what  is  specified  in  the  Constitution 
can  be  exempted. 

I  believe  that  the  principle  of  exempting  all  the 
property  of  churches  is  wrong;  but  I  believe  that  the 
Legislature  should  have  power  to  exempt  a  specific 
amount  of  church  property,  as  such,  and  a  specific 
amount  of  the  property  of  all  literary  and  scientific 
institutions,  as  such.  But  I  would  not  be  willing  that 
any  literary  institution  should  possess  a  college  en 
dowment  of  half  a  million,  and  hold  the  whole  exempt 
from  taxation.  I  am  willing  that  school  houses  and 
grave  yards  should  be  exempted,  but  I  want  all  these 
to  be  clearly  defined  in  the  Constitution. 

Furthermore,  he  was  opposed  to  the  existing 
system  whereby  real  estate  was  often  subjected 
to  double  taxation.  For  instance,  he  believed 
that  if  a  man  bought  a  farm  valued  at  ten 
thousand  dollars  and  gave  a  mortgage  for  half 
that  sum,  he  should  not  be  required  to  pay  taxes 
on  the  total  value  of  the  farm,  but  only  in  pro 
portion  to  the  interest  which  he  held  in  the 
property.  The  remaining  tax  would  be  assessed 
against  the  holder  of  the  mortgage,  and  thus 
the  land  w^ould  not  be  taxed  both  upon  its  total 
value  and  upon  the  amount  of  the  mortgage.79 

A  break  in  the  routine  of  constitution-making 
occurred  on  Friday,  December  13th,  when  the 


70  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Convention  took  time  to  pay  its  respects  to  a 
distinguished  visitor  from  the  land  of  Turkey, 
Ainin  Bey,  who  was  traveling  in  this  country 
for  the  purpose  of  observing  the  workings  of 
American  political  institutions.  He  was  wel 
comed  in  a  speech  by  the  president,  to  which  he 
responded  through  an  interpreter;  whereupon 
he  and  his  retinue  were  invited  to  take  seats  on 
the  floor  of  the  hall.80 

On  the  subject  of  corporations  Mr.  Kirkwood 
argued  on  many  occasions  in  favor  of  a  definite 
provision  in  the  Constitution  giving  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly  the  right  to  repeal  or  revoke 
charters  and  franchises  under  such  terms  as  to 
compensation  for  any  resulting  loss  as  would  be 
equitable.81 

He  was  inclined  to  be  suspicious  of  the  move 
ment  for  law  reform  embodied  in  the  provision 
for  a  board  of  commissioners  to  revise,  reform, 
and  simplify  the  practice,  pleadings,  forms,  and 
procedure  of  the  Ohio  courts  of  record.  "That 
some  of  the  known  forms  of  action  may  be  sup 
pressed,  is  perhaps  true,"  he  said,  "but  that  a 
sweeping  destruction  of  them  all  would  be 
attended  with  benefit  or  even  with  safety,  I  do 
not  believe."82  At  the  same  time,  he  "objected 
to  the  grand  jury  system  on  account  of  its  ex 
pense.  He  would  be  glad  to  see  all  cases  of 
assault  and  battery,  selling  liquor  without 
license,  and  all  petit  larceny,  disposed  of  before 


CONSTITUTION-MAKING  71 

a  justice  of  the  peace".  Or,  for  all  minor 
offenses  "there  might  be  created  a  court  of 
three  justices  of  the  peace,  to  say  whether  the 
accused  should  be  bound  over,  and  then  let  the 
prosecuting  attorney  make  out  his  indictment, 
without  the  intervention  of  a  grand  jury."83 

As  a  general  principle,  Mr.  Kirkwood  de 
clared  that  he  favored  the  election  of  all  officers 
by  the  people,  but  he  would  draw  the  line  at  the 
proposition  to  choose  the  directors  of  the  peni 
tentiary  in  this  manner.  He  "was  afraid  that 
too  much  might  be  thrown  upon  the  people  by  a 
multiplicity  of  elections."84 

Finally,  the  last  subject  upon  which  the 
Mansfield  member  made  any  extended  remarks 
was  the  question  of  banks  and  banking.  In  this 
respect  he  was  decidedly  conservative.  For 
while  he  did  not  oppose  the  granting  of  banking 
privileges,  he  favored  rigid  restrictions ;  and 
especially  did  he  desire  that  a  limit  should  be 
set  to  the  power  of  the  legislature  in  this 
respect.  "I  say",  he  declared,  "that  the  people 
are  interested  not  in  the  protection  of  banks, 
but  in  preventing  their  plunderings  and  rob 
beries.  Our  pockets  are  the  crop ;  the  banks  the 
breachy  cattle,  and  our  present  constitution,  the 
bad  fence.  I  admit,  that  the  best  fence  could  be 
constructed,  by  removing  the  old  one  entirely. 
But  seeing  that  we  cannot  now  do  that,  I  am  in 
favor  of  putting  on  the  additional  rail  now,  and 


72  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

making'  the  new  fence  as  soon  as  I  can.  .  .  . 
I  am  willing,  and  would  be  glad,  to  test  the 
sense  of  the  Convention  in  any  way  that  a  test 
can  be  had  upon  this  subject;  and  then,  at  last, 
I  shall  be  willing  to  take  the  best  thing  that  can 
be  obtained.  But  I  shall  record  my  vote  and 
raise  my  voice  against  the  adjournment  of  this 
Convention,  without  some  attempt  to  protect 
the  people  of  Ohio  from  the  system  of  bank 
plunder,  under  which  they  have  suffered  so 
long  and  so  grievously." 

Like  the  majority  of  Democrats  he  was  op 
posed  to  paper  money  and  in  favor  of  an 
exclusively  metallic  currency.  But  it  had  be 
come  apparent  that  a  hard  money  proposition 
could  not  be  forced  through  the  Convention. 
Members  had  argued  that  in  a  short  time  the 
output  of  the  recently  discovered  California 
gold  fields  would  be  sufficient  to  meet  all  needs, 
and  consequently  there  would  be  no  further 
danger  in  permitting  the  issuance  of  paper 
money.  Kirkwood  was  not  so  sure  of  this 
result,  but  even  if  it  should  transpire  he  thought 
that  it  would  be  many  years  before  any  appre 
ciable  difference  would  be  felt.  In  the  mean 
time  the  people  should  be  protected,  and  to  this 
end  he  proposed  a  section  forbidding  the  legis 
lature  to  pass  any  law  "authorizing  the  emis 
sion  or  circulation  of  paper  credit  of  any 
description  whatever,  intended,  or  calculated  to 


CONSTITUTION-MAKING  73 

circulate  as  money,  of  a  denomination  as  low  as 
the  highest  denomination  of  coin  (the  twenty- 
dollar  gold  piece)  emitted  by  the  Government 
of  the  United  States.  "85 

The  Constitutional  Convention  of  Ohio  ad 
journed  on  March  10,  1851,  after  having  been  in 
session  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  days,  cover 
ing  a  total  period  of  more  than  five  months. 
The  Constitution  thus  drawn  up  was  very 
different  from  the  instrument  under  which  the 
State  had  been  admitted  into  the  Union.  It 
contained  definite  provisions  relative  to  State 
debts,  finance  and  taxation,  banks  and  banking, 
corporations,  education,  county  and  township 
organization,  and  jurisprudence;  and  it  made 
many  important  changes  in  the  three  depart 
ments  of  Commonwealth  government.  In  other 
words,  the  Constitution  corresponded  very 
closely  to  the  needs  and  the  political  doctrines 
of  the  time  at  which  it  was  made.86 

It  would  be  an  exaggeration  to  speak  of 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  as  a  leader  in  the  Con 
vention.  Nevertheless  he  was  one  whose  in 
fluence  was  felt.  Measured  by  the  time  occupied 
in  debate  he  was  one  of  the  least  conspicuous 
members  of  the  assembly:  in  quality  his 
speeches  compared  favorably  with  any  that 
were  made.  He  was  direct,  concise,  and  prac 
tical;  and  his  chief  efforts  were  in  the  interest 


74  SAMUEL  J.  K1RKWOOD 

of  the  elimination  of  ambiguity  from  the  pro 
visions  of  the  Constitution  and  the  protection 
of  the  people  against  the  abuses  under  which 
they  had  suffered  in  the  past.  His  opinions 
were  respected  in  the  Convention  even  if  they 
were  not  always  followed. 

For  Kirkwood  himself  the  experience  at 
Columbus  and  Cincinnati  was  of  great  value. 
It  compelled  him,  as  nothing  else  could  have 
done,  to  formulate  his  own  ideas  concerning  the 
functions  and  problems  of  government. 


VII 

REMOVAL  TO  IOWA 

A  NEW  partnership  was  formed  by  Kirkwood 
shortly  after  his  return  from  the  Constitutional 
Convention  at  Cincinnati.  Thomas  W.  Bartley 
had  acquired  a  taste  for  politics  and  the  holding 
of  public  office.  The  election  of  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  the  fall  of  1851,  occasioned 
by  the  provisions  of  the  new  Constitution, 
offered  the  opportunity  for  which  he  and  his 
friends  had  been  waiting.  Kirkwood  and  others 
actively  espoused  his  cause,  with  the  result  that 
Bartley  received  the  Democratic  nomination  for 
Judge  and  was  duly  elected.  Thereupon  Kirk 
wood  took  into  partnership  his  good  friend, 
Barnabas  Burns.  To  tell  the  truth,  this  change 
was  very  agreeable  to  Kirkwood,  for  it  gave 
him  a  congenial  associate  more  nearly  of  his 
own  age  and  one  who  would  assume  more  of 
the  hard  work  of  the  office  than  Bartley,  with 
his  established  reputation,  had  seen  fit  to 
perform.87 

Clients  were  not  wanting,  and  the  firm  of 
Kirkwood  and  Burns  carried  on  a  lucrative 
practice  as  the  years  went  by.  Kirkwood 's 

75 


7(>  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

al)ility  and  integrity  came  to  be  appreciated, 
both  by  the  members  of  the  Mansfield  bar  and 
by  the  people  of  the  community.  It  was  said 
that  "his  statement  of  a  case  was  equal  to  an 
ordinary  man's  argument.  With  the  Jury  he 
had  unbounded  influence  —  they  believed  in 
what  he  said.  In  fact  he  was  generally  known 
throughout  the  county  by  the  appellation  of 
'Honest  Sam/  "8S 

In  politics  he  remained  "a  Jeffersonian 
Democrat,  and  until  1854  acted  with  the  party 
bearing  the  Democratic  name.  At  that  time, 
when  the  party  gave  itself  up  to  the  worship  of 
'strange  gods,'  Mr.  Kirkwood  remained  true  to 
his  Faith."  He  had  always  been  opposed  to 
slavery  as  an  institution  and  especially  to  its 
further  extension.  And  so  when  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  in  his  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  proposed 
to  repeal  the  time-honored  compromises  and 
reopen  the  whole  slavery  question,  Kirkwood, 
like  thousands  of  others,  was  no  longer  able  to 
ally  himself  with  a  party  which  supported  such 
a  measure.89  Here  was  just  the  issue  to  arouse 
a  mind  ordinarily  rather  indifferent  to  political 
struggles  in  which  no  fundamental  principles 
were  involved. 

With  a  revival  of  all  his  youthful  liking  for 
debate  and  public  discussion  he  took  every  occa 
sion  to  declare  his  opposition  to  Douglas's 
proposal.  While  the  bill  was  pending  in  Con- 


REMOVAL  TO  IOWA  77 

gress  he  wrote  and  published  in  a  local  news 
paper  a  series  of  articles,  over  the  signature 
"0.  K. ",  in  which  he  scathingly  attacked  the 
provisions  of  the  bill.90  And  on  February  17, 
1854,  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  resolu 
tions  of  an  " anti-Nebraska  meeting'7  held  in 
Mansfield,  he  introduced  a  strong  resolution 
denouncing  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compro 
mise  and  the  renewed  agitation  of  the  slavery 
question.91  No  doubt  such  outspoken  opposi 
tion  on  the  part  of  one  who  had  long  been 
known  as  a  staunch  Democrat  carried  much 
weight  in  the  community.92 

What  the  result  of  this  activity  on  Kirk- 
wood's  part  might  have  had  on  his  political 
career  if  he  had  remained  in  Ohio  must  be  left 
to  conjecture.  For  several  years  the  Kirk- 
woods  had  been  receiving  letters  postmarked 
"Iowa  City,  Iowa".  These  messages  from 
what  was  then  considered  the  far  West  came 
from  Ezekiel  Clark,  Mrs.  Kirkwood's  oldest 
brother,  who  had  gone  West  in  1848  and  en 
gaged  in  the  milling  business  near  Iowa  City. 

Thus  it  happened  that  in  1853  Mrs.  Kirkwood 
and  her  other  brother,  John  Clark,  set  out  for  a 
visit  in  the  new  Commonwealth  across  the 
Mississippi;  and  Mr.  Kirkwood  followed  a  few 
weeks  later.  The  journey  was  made  by  rail  to 
Chicago,  with  a  number  of  changes  of  cars  on 
the  way,  and  from  Chicago  a  railroad  conveyed 


78  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

the  travelers  to  a  point  not  far  from  Rock 
Island.  Crossing-  the  river,  they  stopped  over 
night  at  Davenport  and  thence  proceeded  by 
boat  to  Muscatine,  from  which  place  a  regular 
stage  line  was  operated  to  Iowa  City.  But  it 
was  in  a  prosaic,  open  hack,  drawn  by  two 
horses,  rather  than  in  a  picturesque  vehicle 
with  a  four-horse  team  such  as  was  used  in  the 
old  coaching  clays,  that  they  traveled  over  the 
last  miles  of  their  journey.93 

A  few  weeks  later  the  Kirkwoods  returned  to 
Mansfield.  But  within  a  little  more  than  a  year 
they  were  preparing  to  leave  Ohio  and  make  a 
new  home  in  the  State  of  Iowa  to  which  many 
inducements  attracted  them.  Ezekiel  Clark  was 
eager  that  his  brother-in-law  should  come  and 
join  him  in  his  business  enterprises  which  had 
proved  very  profitable.  Besides,  Mrs.  Kirk- 
wood's  mother,  her  brother  John,  and  one 
sister  now  lived  in  Iowa  City,  and  another  sister 
resided  in  Des  Moines.  Family  ties  therefore 
drew  Mrs.  Kirkwood  to  the  West;  while  busi 
ness  prospects  and  the  many  opportunities 
offered  by  a  new  and  growing  community  ap 
pealed  strongly  to  her  husband. 

Some  time  was  consumed  in  closing  up  affairs 
in  the  firm  of  Kirkwood  and  Burns,  and  in 
selling  the  house  in  which  the  Kirkwoods  had 
lived  since  their  marriage.94  It  was  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  1855  that  they  started  on  the 


REMOVAL  TO  IOWA  79 

journey  to  their  new  home.  Transportation 
was  difficult  and  charges  high  in  those  days,  and 
consequently  they  sold  most  of  their  household 
furniture,  shipping  only  such  things  as  could 
well  be  packed  into  boxes  and  crates.  Just 
before  their  departure  the  members  of  the 
Mansfield  bar  tendered  to  Mr.  Kirkwood  a 
banquet  which,  "in  addition  to  the  feast  spread 
upon  the  table",  it  is  said,  "was  a  ' feast  of 
reason  and  a  flow  of  soul'  where  Mirth  and 
Good  Cheer  reigned  supreme,  and  at  the  close 
of  which  many  a  farewell  hand  shake  was 
given,  and  a  'God  speed  you  on  your  way'  was 
pronounced  by  all."95 

There  was  no  lack  of  company  on  the  journey 
westward,  for  this  was  the  period  of  the  great 
tide  of  emigration  to  Iowa  from  the  States 
north  of  the  Ohio  Eiver  and  the  Common 
wealths  further  east.  Kansas  and  Missouri 
were  also  calling  thousands  of  emigrants.  In 
May,  1855,  a  Chicago  newspaper  could  not  see 
"the  least  symptom  of  subsidence  in  the  im 
mense  tide  of  travel  setting  westward.  The 
trains  grow  longer  and  fuller  and  more  of  them, 
and  the  hotels  are  constantly  swarming."96  At 
times  the  hotels  of  the  growing  metropolis  on 
the  lake  were  unable  to  care  for  the  throngs 
that  desired  accommodation.  The  railroads 
leading  from  Chicago  to  the  Mississippi  car 
ried  thousands  of  settlers  seeking  homes  in 


SO  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Iowa,  and  from  early  spring  to  late  fall  the 
ferries  across  the  river  were  kept  busy  trans 
porting  the  wagons,  flocks,  and  herds  of  the  emi 
grants  who  had  come  thither  over  the  principal 
wagon  roads.  It  was  an  emigration  which  wras 
destined  to  change  the  political  complexion  of 
the  State;  and  curiously  enough  it  brought  in 
those  very  elements  which  within  five  years 
were  to  elevate  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  to  the 
highest  office  in  the  Commonwealth.97 

The  journey  from  Mansfield  to  Iowa  City 
was  made  without  mishap  or  notable  incident, 
except  for  the  annoyances  due  to  crowded  and 
delayed  trains.  It  was  fortunate,  however,  for 
a  young  Mansfield  couple,  likewise  bound  for 
Iowa,  that  they  had  a  friend  on  board  the  train. 
For  by  the  time  they  reached  Chicago  their 
slender  store  of  money  had  been  consumed,  and 
it  was  only  through  Mr.  Kirkwood 's  generosity 
that  they  were  furnished  with  funds  with  which 
to  complete  their  journey  to  southern  Iowa  - 
a  generosity  which  was  never  repaid. 

In  due  time  the  stage-coach  once  more 
brought  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kirkwood  to  Iowa  City, 
where  they  were  welcomed  to  the  home  of  John 
Clark,  which  stood  at  the  corner  of  College  and 
Johnson  streets.  Shortly  afterward  a  wagon 
was  sent  to  Davenport  to  fetch  the  boxes  and 
crates  of  household  belongings.98 


VIII 

MlLLEE  AND  FARMEK 

IOWA  CITY  in  the  spring  of  1855  was  a  place  of 
about  four  thousand  inhabitants,  spread  out 
over  a  square  mile  of  rolling  land  clothed  with 
a  native  growth  of  oaks,  elms,  and  hard  maples. 
In  the  Old  Stone  Capitol,  overlooking  the  Iowa 
River,  the  General  Assembly  of  Iowa  still  con 
vened  in  biennial  sessions,  and  here  were  held 
most  of  the  State  conventions  of  the  two  polit 
ical  parties.  Iowa  City  was  also  the  seat  of  the 
State  University,  which  in  March  of  that  year 
opened  for  its  first  session.  Business  was  good 
and  there  was  some  prospect  that  the  place 
would  become  a  manufacturing  center.  The 
citizens  were  awaiting  impatiently  the  coming 
of  the  railroad,  which  even  then  was  being 
built  westward  from  Davenport."  Moreover, 
it  is  said  that  when  the  Kirkwoods  arrived  the 
town  was  "  red-hot  and  sizzing  with  political 
excitement  over  the  first  consequences  of  the 
adoption  by  congress  of  Douglas's  'squatter 
sovereignty'  theory ".10° 

It  was  not  within  the  corporate  limits  of  Iowa 
City,  however,  that  Mr.   and  Mrs.   Kirkwood 

7  81 


82  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

took  up  their  abode,  but  at  a  point  ou  the  Iowa 
River  about  two  miles  and  a  half  northwest  of 
town,  where  stood  the  mill  owned  by  Ezekiel 
Clark.  To  this  establishment  there  belonged  an 
interesting-  history.  In  1843  an  association 
known  as  the  Iowa  City  Manufacturing  Com 
pany  was  formed,  and  a  sufficient  amount  of 
stock  was  subscribed  to  make  possible  the  pur 
chase  of  land  and  the  erection  of  a  dam.  Pearly 
in  the  following  year  the  mill  was  put  into 
operation,  much  to  the  joy  of  the  people  of 
Iowa  City  and  the  surrounding  country,  for 
hitherto  it  had  often  been  difficult  to  secure 
flour  and  ground  meal.  But  for  various  reasons 
the  company  failed  to  make  the  expected  profits 
and  became  insolvent,  whereupon  the  property 
was  sold  at  sheriff's  sale  and  after  passing- 
through  several  hands  came  into  the  possession 
of  Ezekiel  Clark.1"1 

Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  purchased  a  part  inter 
est  in  this  flour  and  grist  mill,  as  well  as  in  a 
saw-mill  just  across  the  river  and  in  a  farm  of 
about  twelve  hundred  acres  adjoining  the  mill 
site.  Thus  was  formed  the  firm  of  Clark  and 
Kirkwood,  which  later  added  to  its  already 
extensive  business  enterprises  a  general  mer 
chandise  store  in  Iowa  City.102  Mr.  Kirkwood 
and  his  wife  moved  into  the  Clark  home  at 
Clarksville,  or  Coralville  as  the  suburb  came 
later  to  be  called,  and  Mrs.  Kirkwood  assumed 


MILLER  AND  FARMER  83 

the  functions  of  a  mother  toward  her  brother's 
three  children  —  two  boys  and  a  girl.103 

The  erstwhile  Mansfield  attorney  now  "be 
came  a  full  fledged  Iowa  miller  and  farmer, 
wearing  the  dusty  coat  of  one  and  the  soil- 
stained  boots  of  the  other ".  He  kept  aloof 
from  public  affairs,  and  most  of  his  neighbors 
saw  in  him  only  a  "careless,  burly-looking,  but 
good-natured,  miller ",  whom  they  liked  and 
trusted  and  soon  came  to  address  familiarly  as 
"Sam".104 

Prosperity  continued  to  reward  the  labors  of 
the  millers,105  for  they  depended  not  merely  on 
the  trade  of  nearby  farmers  who  came  thither 
with  their  grists  to  be  ground.  Settlers  from 
all  northwestern  Iowa  —  from  the  vicinity  of 
Marshalltown,  Fort  Dodge,  and  even  from  far 
away  Woodbury  County,  it  is  said  —  could  for 
a  time  find  no  nearer  point  at  which  they  might 
purchase  flour.  "It  was  no  unusual  sight  to  see 
fifty  or  sixty  wagons  arranged  at  this  mill  at 
one  time ' '.  During  such  periods  the  machinery 
was  operated  day  and  night,  and  "the  vicinity 
of  the  mill  often  looked  like  a  camping  ground, 
so  thronged  was  it"  with  the  teams  of  settlers 
awaiting  their  turns  to  have  their  grists 
ground.106  The  twelve  hundred  acre  farm  was 
likewise  a  source  of  profit  to  its  owners.  Corn 
was  the  principal  crop;  while  the  raising  of 
cattle  and  hogs  proved  especially  successful, 


84  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

since  the  waste  products  from  the  mill  could  be 
utilized  to  good  advantage  in  feeding.107 

The  management  of  all  these  enterprises 
meant  hard  work  for  Kirkwood.108  Nor  were 
the  duties  which  fell  to  Mrs.  Kirkwood  any 
lighter.  With  three  growing  children  to  look 
after  there  were  ordinary  household  cares  suf 
ficient  to  keep  her  busy.  But  much  of  the  time 
it  was  necessary  that  several  farm  and  mill 
hands  should  be  lodged  and  boarded  in  the  home 
of  their  employers.  The  quiet  home-life  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed  in  their  Ohio 
home  was  impossible  under  such  conditions ; 
and  this  Jane  Kirkwood  missed  more  than  any 
thing  else  during  the  first  years  in  Iowa.109 

That  Kirkwood  had  become  a  good  judge  of 
men  is  illustrated  by  an  incident  which  occurred 
in  1856.  One  day  there  came  to  the  mill  a 
young  man  by  the  name  of  John  F.  Buncombe. 
He  had  driven  all  the  way  from  Fort  Dodge, 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  shipment  on  the 
railroad  which  had  recently  been  opened  to 
Iowa  City.  Bather  than  return  with  an  empty 
wagon,  and  as  a  speculation,  he  decided  to  buy 
some  flour,  and  reap  the  benefit  of  the  high 
prices  which  that  commodity  would  bring  in  his 
home  town.  When  he  was  about  to  leave  the 
mill  Mr.  Kirkwood  called  his  attention  to  the 
fact  that  he  could  easily  haul  much  more  flour 
than  he  had  purchased.  Mr.  Buncombe  replied 


MILLER  AND  FARMER  85 

that  he  had  taken  all  he  could  pay  for.  There 
upon  the  miller  studied  his  customer's  appear 
ance  for  a  moment,  and  then  told  him  to  load 
up  his  wagon  and  send  back  the  money  when  he 
had  sold  the  flour.  The  confidence  thus  ex 
pressed  was  not  betrayed,  and  at  the  same  time 
Kirkwood  thereby  gained  a  good  friend.110 

In  their  new  home  the  Kirkwoods  were  not 
entirely  among  strangers.  Mrs.  Kirkwood 's 
mother,  two  brothers,  and  a  sister  (Mrs. 
Edward  Lucas),  as  has  been  seen,  were  here; 
and  within  a  short  time  Mr.  Kirkwood 's  brother 
John  came  and  took  up  a  farm  in  Johnson 
County.  Moreover,  in  Iowa  City  and  the  sur 
rounding  country  were  a  number  of  former 
Mansfield  and  Richland  County  people,  among 
whom  was  Dr.  E.  W.  Lake  who  had  befriended 
Kirkwood  when  he  appeared  in  Mansfield  to 
study  law  in  the  office  of  Thomas  W.  Bartley. 
Among  their  neighbors  they  were  received  with 
western  hospitality;  and  strong  friendships 
soon  sprang  up  with  the  Crum,  Folsom,  Dennis, 
and  other  families  in  Coralville  and  Iowa 
City.111 

While  Kirkwood  gave  little  outward  indica 
tion  of  his  interest  in  politics  during  the  months 
when  his  new  work  was  engrossing  his  atten 
tion,  it  is  evident  that  time  had  not  softened  the 
resentment  aroused  within  him  by  the  passage 
of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill.  "I  was  really 


86  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

glad  to  learn  that  you  and  the  other  persons 
you  have  named  have  determined  to  support 
the  Republican  ticket  this  fall",  he  wrote  in 
September,  1855,  to  a  friend  in  Ohio.  "If  I 
were  in  Ohio,  I  would  not  only  vote  for  that 
ticket,  but  I  would  stump  it  whenever  I  could 
find  a  stump  to  stand  on,  and  a  dozen  voters  to 
listen  to  me.  In  my  opinion  the  only  way  to 
save  Kansas  from  the  evils  of  slavery,  and  save 
our  country  from  the  crime  and  disgrace  of  con 
verting  free  soil  into  slave  soil,  is  for  the  men 
of  the  North  without  distinction  of  party  —  all 
men  who  are  Democrats  in  fact,  and  not  in  name 
merely  ...  to  unite  and  say  by  their 
votes,  this  foul  deed  shall  not  be  done."11'2 

A  man  with  such  strong  convictions  and  with 
Kirkwood's  ability  as  a  speaker  could  not  ex 
pect  long  to  "hide  his  light  under  a  bushel". 
In  fact  the  time  soon  came  when  he  was  un 
expectedly  and  against  his  will  thrust  promi 
nently  into  public  notice. 

This  was  a  period  of  political  readjustment 
precipitated  by  Douglas's  measure  and  fostered 
by  subsequent  events  in  unhappy  Kansas.  In 
Iowa,  as  elsewhere  throughout  the  country,  old 
party  alignments  were  entirely  broken  down; 
and  the  indefinite  body  of  voters  which  in  the 
summer  of  1854  had  elected  James  AV.  Grimes 
as  Governor,  had  by  January,  1856,  become 
welded  into  a  definite,  homogeneous  party 


MILLER  AND  FARMER  87 

which  only  lacked  formal  organization.  Thus 
it  was  that,  in  the  belief  that  a  majority  of  the 
people  of  Iowa  were  opposed  to  the  extension 
of  slavery  into  free  territory,  a  call  was  issued, 
bidding  "all  such  free  citizens  to  meet  in  Con 
vention,  at  Iowa  City  on  the  22d  day  of  Febru 
ary,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  Republican 
party,  to  make  common  cause  with  a  similar 
party  already  formed  in  several  of  the  other 
States  of  the  Union.  "113 

The  convention  which  met  at  Iowa  City  on 
February  22,  1856,  in  response  to  this  call  was 
said  to  have  been  the  largest  political  gathering 
ever  held  in  Iowa  up  to  that  time.  The  hall  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  Old  Stone 
Capitol  was  filled  to  overflowing  with  delegates 
many  of  whom  had  traveled  by  wagon  or  stage 
or  on  horseback  as  far  as  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  in  the  midst  of  winter  to  be  present.114 

Kirkwood's  name  appeared  in  the  list  of 
the  fully  accredited  delegates  from  Johnson 
County,  but  it  is  apparent  that  he  had  not 
planned  to  attend  the  convention.  In  fact,  he 
was  not  present  at  the  morning  session.  Being 
a  comparative  stranger  in  Iowa  he  felt  that  he 
would  know  scarcely  anyone  in  the  convention ; 
and  besides,  there  was  much  work  to  do  at  the 
mill.  In  the  afternoon,  however,  his  partner 
urged  him  to  go  in  to  the  meeting,  saying  that 
there  were  some  of  Kirkwood's  old  Ohio  friends 


88  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

in  attendance  who  would  be  glad  to  see  him. 
Tims  appealed  to,  and  without  much  prepara 
tion  in  the  way  of  toilet,  Kirkwood  laid  aside 
the  work  at  hand  and  betook  himself  to  Iowa 
City.  In  the  convention  hall  he  found  a  seat 
where  he  hoped  to  remain  an  inconspicuous 
observer  of  the  proceedings.115 

In  many  respects  this  was  a  remarkable  con 
vention,  for  the  delegates  felt  that  "they  had 
indeed  assembled  for  a  great  and  noble  pur 
pose".  The  afternoon  and  evening  sessions 
were  characterized  by  earnest  speeches,  when 
"one  man  after  another  took  the  floor  in  favor 
of  the  limitation  of  slave  territory,  sundered 
the  ties  that  bound  him"  to  his  old  party,  "and 
gave  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party. 
It  was  an  experience  meeting,  and  men  in  the 
candor  of  their  hearts  briefly,  tersely  told  of 
their  bitter  experience"  in  the  old  parties.110 

In  the  midst  of  this  series  of  speeches,  in 
accordance  with  a  preconcerted  plan  on  the 
part  of  his  friends,  there  came  calls  for 
"Kirkwood".  Surprised  at  the  calls,  the  miller 
at  first  paid  no  attention  to  them.  But  his 
admirers  were  not  to  be  thwarted  and  they  con 
tinued  to  call  his  name.  Whereupon,  because 
he  was  a  stranger  except  to  the  Johnson  County 
delegates,  loud  whispers  of  "Who  is  Kirk- 
wood"  were  heard  in  the  hall;  while  one  dele 
gate,  in  a  louder  voice  than  the  others,  called 
out  "Who  in  h— 1  is  Kirkwood?"117 


MILLER  AND  FARMER  89 

At  length  when  he  could  no  longer  refuse  to 
accede  to  the  calls,  Kirkwood  stepped  forward 
and  stood  before  the  convention.  "He  was 
dressed  in  his  working  clothes,  and  was  be- 
powdered  from  head  to  foot  with  flour",  says 
one  who  witnessed  the  scene.  "He  was  a 
stranger  to  all  except  the  Iowa  Cityans  present, 
and  as  I  was  fresh  from  the  east  with  some 
memories  of  'dude'  orators,  I  wondered  with 
lots  of  others  who  that  uncouth  laborer  was.  A 
i change  came  over  the  spirit  of  our  dreams' 
pretty  soon,  let  me  tell  you.  He  hadn't  spoken 
many  minutes  before  the  sound  sense,  con 
vincing  logic,  and  forceful  oratory,  not  spread 
eagle  eloquence,  captivated  every  auditor  and 
held  our  fixed  attention  until  his  great  speech 
closed."118 

No  chronicler  has  preserved  in  detail  the 
speech  made  by  Kirkwood  that  day,  when  he 
received  his  introduction  to  political  life  in 
Iowa.  In  substance  he  recounted  how  after 
many  years  of  loyalty  he  had  left  the  Demo 
cratic  party  because  that  party  had  deserted  its 
former  principles.  Without  definitely  com 
mitting  himself  to  work  with  the  new  party,  he 
showed  himself  to  be  so  thoroughly  "in  har 
mony  with  the  leading  thought  that  inspired  the 
convention",  that  he  was  placed  on  a  committee, 
composed  of  some  of  the  leading  members  of 
the  party,  to  draw  up  an  address  to  the  people 
of  Iowa.119 


IX 

THE  SIXTH  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY 

HAVIXCJ  thus  made  his  appearance  upon  the 
stage  of  Iowa  politics  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  was 
not  again  allowed  to  remain  in  quiet  obscurity 
at  his  mill  beside  the  Iowa  River.  The  new 
Republican  party  was  in  need  of  speakers  and 
of  men  capable  of  leadership ;  and  so  Kirkwood 
soon  found  himself  pressed  into  a  service  which 
he  could  not  escape  even  had  he  so  desired. 
His  name  appears  in  the  list  of  delegates  from 
Iowa  City  Township  to  the  Johnson  County 
Republican  Convention  on  June  28,  1856 ;  while 
lie  was  scheduled  as  one  of  the  principal 
speakers  at  a  mass  meeting  held  on  the  evening 
of  the  same  day  for  the  purpose  of  ratifying 
the  nominations  made  by  the  National  Repub 
lican  Convention.  But  of  greater  importance 
was  his  nomination  for  State  Senator  by  the 
KYpublican  convention  of  the  district  composed 
of  Johnson  and  Iowa  counties  which  likewise 
convened  at  Iowa  City  on  June  28th.120 

Of  the  campaign  which  ensued  between 
Kirkwood  and  his  Democratic  opponent,  ,J.  I). 
Templin,  there  is  little  record.  It  has  been 

90 


MEMBER  OF  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY   91 

said,  however,  that  it  "was  a  Most  hope'  he  led 
in  that  election.  No  other  republican  dared  to 
be  a  candidate",  for  the  district  had  long  been 
a  Democratic  stronghold.  It  is  related,  also, 
that  his  opponent  endeavored  to  stir  up  senti 
ment  against  Kirkwood  by  calling  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  mill  dam  at  Coralville  pre 
vented  large  fish  from  ascending  the  river,  to 
the  detriment  of  settlers  living  above  the  dam. 
But  in  spite  of  all  handicaps  and  opposition  the 
citizens  of  the  district  rallied  to  the  support  of 
"Sam"  Kirkwood  in  such  numbers  that  he  was 
elected  State  Senator.121 

The  Sixth  General  Assembly  of  Iowa  which 
convened  on  the  first  day  of  December,  1856, 
was  the  last  session  of  the  legislature  to  be  held 
in  the  Old  Stone  Capitol  at  Iowa  City.  While 
this  Assembly  was  not  particularly  notable  be 
cause  of  the  prominence  or  ability  of  its 
members,  it  included,  especially  in  the  Senate, 
a  number  of  men  well  known  in  Iowa  history. 
Kirkwood  here  found  himself  associated  with 
such  men  as  Alvin  Saunders,  William  F.  Cool- 
baugh,  William  Loughridge,  J.  E.  Neal,  Nich 
olas  J.  Rusch,  J.  W.  Cattell,  Josiah  B.  Grinnell, 
W.  W.  Hamilton,  H.  H.  Trimble,  and  M.  L. 
McPherson.  But  what  this  body  of  men  may 
have  lacked  in  experience  and  renown  they 
made  up  in  earnestness  and  industry.  Not  only 
was  this  the  period  of  the  transfer  of  power 


C)L>  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

from  one  political  party  to  another,  but  within 
a  few  months  there  was  to  be  a  total  revision  of 
the  fundamental  law  of  the  Commonwealth. 

During  the  two  months  of  the  legislative 
session  Senator  Kirkwood  took  comparatively 
little  part  in  the  public  deliberations.122  It  was 
later  said  of  him,  by  one  who  knew  him  inti 
mately,  that  he  "was  inclined  to  be  indolent, 
and  it  required  something  more  than  ordinary 
routine  legislation  to  bring  out  his  great  intel 
lectual  powers."123  He  was  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Federal  Relations  and  a  member 
of  the  regular  committees  on  public  buildings 
and  railroads,  besides  being  appointed  from 
time  to  time  as  a  member  of  special  committees 
to  consider  particular  subjects.124  Most  of  the 
time  he  was  content  to  perform  his  duties  on 
committees,  offering  only  an  occasional  motion 
or  amendment  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate. 

But  there  were  a  few  occasions  on  which  he 
was  thoroughly  aroused.  On  the  afternoon  of 
December  17th  there  came  up  for  discussion 
House  File  No.  2,  which  was  a  joint  resolution 
instructing  and  requesting  the  Iowa  Senators 
and  Representatives  in  Congress  "to  exert 
their  influence  and  vote  for  the  admission  of 
Kansas  into  the  Union  as  a  Free  State,  and  to 
oppose  its  admission  with  a  constitution  estab 
lishing  or  tolerating  Slavery."  In  the  pre 
amble  it  was  asserted  that  "Freedom  is 


MEMBER  OF  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY   93 

National,  and  Slavery,  Sectional",  and  that 
"the  peace,  welfare  and  honor  of  the  country 
imperatively  require  that  our  National  domain 
shall  be  preserved  Free,  for  Free  Homes,  for 
Free  Men". 

This  was  too  strong  a  doctrine  for  the  Demo 
cratic  members  of  the  Senate,  and  one  of  their 
number,  Mr.  David  T.  Brigham  of  Van  Buren 
County,  was  ready  with  a  substitute  series  of 
resolutions  which  he  immediately  introduced. 
It  was  here  declared  to  be  the  "imperative  duty 
of  the  General  Government  to  protect  all  actual 
residents  in  the  respective  territories  of  the 
United  States,  and  all  persons  seeking  homes 
there,  in  the  free  and  full  enjoyment  of  all  legal 
and  constitutional  rights  of  person  and  prop 
erty  ' ' ;  and  the  members  of  the  Iowa  delegation 
in  Congress  w^ere  called  upon  to  act  and  vote  in 
accordance  with  this  attitude.  In  conclusion,  it 
was  asserted  that  "while  we  entertain  and  ex 
press  the  confident  hope  that  the  people  of 
Kansas  will  at  a  proper  time  organize,  and 
adopt  for  her  government  a  constitution  pro 
hibiting  the  institution  of  domestic  slavery,  we 
still  recognize  their  right  to  determine  and 
manage  their  owTn  domestic  institutions  in  their 
own  way,  and  be  admitted  as  one  of  the  States 
of  this  Union. ' ' 

Quick  to  seize  the  opportunity  offered  by  the 
last  clause  in  this  substitute  resolution  the 


94  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Johnson  County  Senator  proposed  the  follow 
ing  pointed  amendment  to  Mr.  Brigham's 
resolutions : 

To  insert  after  the  words,  their  own  way,  and  before 
the  words,  and  be  admitted,  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
substitute,  the  following : 

Provided,  That  the  power  of  the  people  who  may 
settle  in  our  territories  to  establish  therein  the  systems 
of  human  slavery  or  polygamy  is  not  essential  to  the 
free  enjoyment  by  them  of  all  the  rights  of  self 
government.1-5 

' i  Never  have  we  seen  more  consternation  in  a 
friendly  circle  than  this  created  among  the 
dozen  Democrats  in  the  Senate",  wrote  a  cor 
respondent  for  a  Chicago  newspaper  who  was 
sitting  in  the  Senate  when  this  episode  occurred. 
"Had  a  bomb  shell  burst  among  them,  they 
could  not  have  been  more  disconcerted.  Here 
was  a  dilemma,  they  must  either  vote  for 
polygamy  and  slavery,  or  vote  against  them, 
they  could  not  ride  the  non-intervention  hobby 
and  say  to  slavery,  'we  neither  love  nor  hate 
you,  go  where  you  please,  and  to  polygamy  you 
may  do  the  same.' 

"In  introducing  his  amendment",  continued 
this  same  correspondent,  "Mr.  Kirkwood  made 
decidedly  the  best  speech  that  has  been  deliv 
ered  this  session.  He  is  the  Ajax  of  the  Senate, 
at  least  a  head  and  shoulders  above  all  his  com 
peers.  .  .  .  He  was  in  favor  of  the  prin- 


MEMBER  OF  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY   95 

ciple  of  self-government,  but  the  right  of 
self-government  does  not  imply  the  right, 
authority  or  power  to  take  away  any  of  the 
natural  rights  of  others.  If  the  Democratic 
doctrines  of  to-day  are  right,  we  present  to  the 
countries  of  Europe  the  sad  spectacle  that  our 
General  Government  looks  with  equal  approba 
tion  on  freedom  and  slavery,  and  has  not  the 
power,  or  at  best  the  independence  to  choose 
between  the  two.  If  our  country  has  the  power 
and  right  to  acquire  free  territory,  it  has  the 
power  and  right  to  keep  it  free.  We  got  Utah 
and  New  Mexico  free;  not  a  slave  breathed  on 
the  soil  of  either,  and  yet  we  are  told  by  the 
Democratic  party,  that  we  have  no  power  to 
keep  them  free.  I  have  been  a  long  time  a  Dem 
ocrat,  I  voted  for  Franklin  Pierce,  but  I  do  not 
now  believe  this  to  be  sound  Democratic  doc 
trine  and  never  did  while  acting  with  that 
party."126 

A  desperate  effort  was  made  to  strike  out  the 
word  "  polygamy "  in  Kirkwood's  amendment 
or  at  least  to  secure  a  division  in  the  vote  upon 
the  two  questions,  but  all  to  no  avail.  In  dis 
gust  Senator  H.  H.  Trimble  proposed  to  amend 
the  Kirkwood  amendment  by  adding  "  after  the 
word  '  Polygamy/  the  words  'Land  Piracy, 
Murder,  Arson,  Counterfeiting,  Horse  Stealing, 
Whiskey  Drinking,  and  Ignorance.'  "127  The 
Democratic  substitute  was  finally  laid  on  the 


96  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

table  and  the  original  joint  resolution  was 
adopted  by  a  large  majority. 

Senator  Kirkwood  was  likewise  wide  awake 
when  any  measure  relating  to  public  education 
or  school  lands  was  under  deliberation.  Early 
in  the  session  he  introduced  a  resolution  to  the 
effect  that  "the  committee  on  the  Judiciary  be 
instructed  to  report  to  this  body  whether,  in 
their  opinion,  the  State  of  Iowa  is  entitled, 
under  the  act  of  Congress  of  March  3d,  1845,  to 
five  per  cent  of  the  government  price  of  all 
lands  sold  in  the  State  by  the  United  States  for 
military  land  warrants",  and  he  was  thereupon 
made  a  temporary  member  of  the  committee  for 
the  special  consideration  of  the  resolution. 
Later,  because  criticism  had  arisen  concerning 
the  action  of  the  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction  and  certain  members  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  the  State  University  in  pur 
chasing  University  lands,  he  introduced  resolu 
tions  calling  for  information  relative  to  the 
alleged  frauds.  The  defalcation  of  Superin 
tendent  James  D.  Eads  also  induced  him  to 
present  a  resolution  which  was  adopted  calling 
upon  the  Committee  on  Schools  "to  inquire  and 
report,  by  bill  or  otherwise,  whether  any,  and  if 
any,  what  further  legislation  is  required  for  the 
security  of  school  funds  in  the  hands  of  the 
county  school  fund  commissioners  of  the  State." 

Again,    when    Senator    Neal    proposed    that 


MEMBER  OF  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY   97 

"the  committee  on  Schools  be  instructed  to 
enquire  into  the  expediency  of  locating  the  state 
university  upon  the  five  sections  of  land  in 
Jasper  county/'  Kirkwood  was  on  his  feet  with 
amendments  which  may  be  viewed  either  as  a 
disinterested  suggestion  in  favor  of  central 
ization  or  as  a  shrewd  method  of  blocking  the 
move  proposed  by  Senator  Neal.  Instead  of 
opposing  the  resolution  he  not  only  seemed  to 
give  it  his  approval  but  he  also  moved  that  the 
State  capital,  the  asylum  for  the  blind,  and  the 
asylum  for  the  deaf  and  dumb  should  be  in 
cluded  in  the  same  plan.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  there  could  be  no  hope  of  securing  the 
adoption  of  such  a  scheme  when  politics  and 
sectional  jealousies  were  such  decisive  factors 
in  the  location  of  State  institutions.128 

The  consumption  of  valuable  time  by  the  use 
less  injection  of  partisanship  into  the  discussion 
of  legislative  matters  was  not  to  the  liking  of 
the  Senator  from  Johnson  County.  On  Decem 
ber  15th  a  l '  bill  for  an  act  relating  to  evidence ' ' 
was  read  a  third  time  and  adopted.  This  bill, 
which  removed  the  restrictions  formerly  placed 
upon  the  right  of  negroes  and  Indians  to  give 
testimony  in  cases  involving  a  white  person, 
was  distasteful  to  the  pro-slavery  Democrats. 
Consequently,  when  it  was  voted  to  reconsider 
the  title  of  the  bill,  Senator  J.  E.  Neal  proposed 
to  amend  the  title  to  read  "A  bill  for  an  act  to 

8 


98  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

equalize  the  white,  the  black,  and  the  mongrel 
races."  Senator  M.  L.  McPherson,  from  the 
Republican  side,  thereupon  offered  the  follow 
ing  substitute  for  this  amendment:  "An  act  to 
repeal  a  tyrannical  prohibition  of  the  Code, 
placed  there  by  the  Democratic  Party  of  this 
State."  Not  content  to  let  the  farce  end  here 
Senator  James  D.  Test,  a  Democrat,  presented 
another  substitute  entitling  the  bill  "An  act 
carrying  out  the  policy  of  the  Black  Repub 
licans."  At  this  point  Kirkwood  hastened  to 
call  for  the  "yeas  and  nays"  on  Senator  NeaPs 
amendment,  and  this  closed  the  discussion.120 

Finally,  much  credit  should  be  given  to 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  for  shaping  and  securing 
the  adoption  of  the  bill  establishing  The  State 
Historical  Society  of  Iowa  —  a  bill  which  car 
ried  with  it  a  modest  appropriation  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  In  reporting  for  the 
Committee  on  Federal  Relations,  to  which  the 
bill  had  been  referred,  he  secured  the  adoption 
of  an  amendment  which  located  the  Society  in 
"connection  with,  and  under  the  auspices  of 
the  state  university",  rather  than  "at  the 
capital".130 

The  Sixth  General  Assembly  adjourned  early 
on  the  morning  of  January  '29,  1857,  after  an  all 
night  session,  leaving  the  Old  Stone  Capitol  to 
the  State  officers  and  the  Constitutional  Con 
vention  which,  for  more  than  a  week,  had  been 


MEMBER  OF  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY   99 

meeting  daily  in  the  Supreme  Court  room. 
One  of  the  last  statutes  enacted  in  the  historic 
building  which  soon  was  to  be  given  over  to  the 
State  University  of  Iowa  was  a  joint  resolution 
by  which  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  was  made  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  that 
institution.131 


IN  THE  SENATE  AT  THE  NEW  SEAT  OF 
GOVERNMENT 

IF  Kirkwood  had  planned  to  give  his  entire 
attention  once  more  to  mill  and  farm  and  store 
upon  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature,  he  was 
doomed  to  disappointment.  On  January  2'2nd, 
a  week  before  the  close  of  the  legislative  ses 
sion,  a  Republican  State  Convention  was  held 
at  Iowa  City  and  Kirkwood  was  chosen  as 
chairman  of  the  State  Central  Committee,  the 
other  members  of  which  were  William  Penn 
Clarke,  George  D.  Woodin,  Hiram  Price,  and 
Henry  O'Connor.132  Upon  him,  therefore,  fell 
the  principal  burden  of  planning  and  directing 
the  campaigns  of  the  buoyant  young  party 
during  that  year.133  This  was  a  task  which 
involved  not  only  many  personal  conferences 
with  party  leaders,  but  also  a  great  deal  of 
correspondence  and  much  public  speaking.  In 
this  way  he  began  the  wide  acquaintance  with 
people  in  all  parts  of  the  State  which  in  part 
explains  his  popularity  in  Iowa  during  the  next 
quarter  of  a  century. 

Especially  did  this  new  position  bring  Kirk- 

100 


IN  THE  SENATE  AT  DES  MOTN'ES     101 

wood  into  intimate  relations  with  Governor 
James  W.  Grimes,  the  "Father  of  Republican 
ism  in  Iowa".  Early  in  March  Senator  Kirk- 
wood  received  a  long  letter  from  the  Governor, 
the  first  part  of  which  dealt  with  matters  of 
concern  to  the  former  as  a  Trustee  of  the  State 
University.  Turning  to  the  political  situation, 
Grimes  warned  the  chairman  of  the  State  Cen 
tral  Committee  that  "Our  main  efforts  must  be 
directed  to  carrying  the  legislature  in  October. 
.  .  .  .  As  far  as  it  regards  any  aspirations 
that  I  may  have,  I  wish  my  friends  to  entirely 
disregard  them  and  labor  alone  for  the  advance 
ment  of  our  party  and  its  principles.  I  desire 
to  prevent  our  party  from  being  dissevered. 
.  .  .  .  It  will  be  very  important  to  us  that 
we  secure  the  right  kind  of  a  man  for  Governor 
in  October.  If  we  get  a  weak  man,  either  intel 
lectually  or  politically,  we  shall  be  swamped." 
And  then  he  expressed  his  high  estimation  of 
Kirkwood's  abilities  by  adding:  "I  would  sug 
gest  your  name  if  I  did  not  think  it  better  for 
you  to  be  a  candidate  for  Congress  next  year, 
with  a  prospect  for  a  senatorship  two  years 
hence.  If,  however,  you  prefer  to  be  a  candi 
date  for  governor  in  October,  or  if  you  prefer 
to  be  a  candidate  for  the  Senate  in  place  of 
Jones  you  may  rely  upon  my  co-operation  and 
aid.  I  am  disposed  to  assist  in  selecting  those 
men  who  can  do  us  the  most  good.  I  want 


102  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

somebody  in  Congress  from  this  State  who  has 
some  common  sense."134  The  desire  that  Kirk- 
wood  should  be  a  candidate  for  Congress  was 
reiterated  in  other  letters  during  the  same 
month.135 

The  friendship  between  the  two  men  was 
strengthened  by  personal  association  during 
the  summer  when  they  stumped  a  portion  of 
the  State  together  in  the  interests  of  Ralph  P. 
Lowe,  the  Republican  candidate  for  Governor 
who  had  a  hard  struggle  against  his  able  Demo 
cratic  opponent,  Ben  M.  Samuels.  Kirkwood 
had  hoped  to  avoid  journeying  away  from  home 
during  the  season  when  the  work  of  the  farm 
most  needed  his  attention.  But  Governor 
Grimes  came  to  Iowa  City  about  the  middle  of 
August  and  insisted  that  Kirkwood  accompany 
him  on  a  speech-making  tour  in  northeastern 
Iowa,  in  place  of  John  W.  Rankin  of  Keokuk 
who  had  been  forced  to  abandon  the  trip  in 
order  to  attend  to  his  own  interests  in  a  cam 
paign  for  the  State  Senate.  Yielding  to  the 
urgency  of  the  situation  as  presented  by  the 
Governor,  the  busy  miller-farmer  consented  to 
go.  The  two  men  traveled,  as  was  necessary  in 
ante-railroad  times,  in  a  two-horse  buggy. 

During  the  succeeding  three  weeks  Grimes 
and  Kirkwood  traveled  through  sixteen  coun 
ties,  fording  swollen  streams,  picking  their  way 
around  swamps,  and  often  riding  for  hours  in  a 


IN  THE  SENATE  AT  DES  MOINES     103 

heavy  rain  —  for  this  was  an  unusually  wet 
season  in  Iowa.  For  instance,  it  is  related  that 
they  arrived  at  West  Union  after  an  all  day's 
ride  through  "a  good  orthodox  downpour,  in 
which  water  was  at  a  big  discount",  and  there 
found  it  necessary  to  borrow  dry  clothes  in 
which  to  appear  before  the  audience  gathered  to 
hear  them.  But  in  spite  of  the  difficulties  of 
travel  all  the  appointments  were  met,  and  the 
people  of  northeastern  Iowa  were  preached 
sound  Republican  doctrine.136 

After  his  return  from  this  wearisome  trip 
Kirkwood  made  several  other  speeches  at  points 
nearer  home  during  the  three  weeks  immedi 
ately  preceding  the  election.  On  most  of  these 
occasions  he  participated  in  joint  debates  with 
Ben  M.  Samuels,  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
Governor.137  Finally,  however,  the  campaign 
came  to  a  close,  and  the  workers  in  the  Repub- 
ican  cause  were  rewarded  for  their  labors  by 
the  victory  of  their  candidates.  Ralph  P.  Lowe 
was  elected  Governor  by  a  majority  of  slightly 
more  than  two  thousand  votes,  while  the  legis 
lature  was  kept  from  the  control  of  the  Demo 
crats,  thus  insuring  the  election  of  a  Republican 
United  States  Senator  to  succeed  George  W. 
Jones. 

By  this  time  it  had  become  generally  known 
that  James  W.  Grimes  would  be  a  candidate  for 
the  senatorship  when  the  legislature  should 


104  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

convene  in  January,  1858 ;  but  he  was  not  a  man 
who  put  his  own  personal  aspirations  above  the 
interests  of  his  friends  or  his  party.  It  seems 
that  while  the  two  men  were  canvassing  north 
eastern  Iowa  together  Kirkwood  had  urged 
Grimes  to  announce  himself  for  the  senatorship 
and  had  promised  his  support  in  the  legis 
lature.  But  when  the  former  returned  to  Iowa 
City  he  found  that  William  Penn  Clarke,  his 
neighbor  and  colleague  on  the  State  Central 
Committee,  was  a  candidate  for  the  same 
position.  Here  was  an  embarrassing  situation. 

Like  a  ray  of  light  amid  the  gloom  of  political 
striving  and  intrigue  was  Grimes 's  letter  to  his 
friend.  He  had  no  kindly  feeling  toward 
Clarke,  against  whom  he  warned  Kirkwood  to 
be  on  his  guard.  But,  he  said,  "if  voting  for 
me  will  injure  you,  you  must  not  do  it  at  all. 
If  I  go  down,  I  do  not  intend  to  take  any  of  my 
friends  with  me  if  I  can  help  it."138 

At  about  this  same  time  Grimes  gave  further 
proof  of  his  regard  for  Kirkwood  by  informing 
him  of  the  rumor  that  James  Harlan  would  not 
be  a  candidate  for  reelection  to  the  Senate  in 
1860.  "You  must  strike  for  his  place ",  urged 
Grimes.  "You  know  you  can  rely  upon  my 
help  &  you  can  get  it  just  as  well  as  not."139 
What  ambitions  these  repeated  suggestions  may 
have  aroused  in  Kirkwood 's  breast  can  never  be 
known.  Events  were  shaping  themselves  along 


IN  THE  SENATE  AT  DES  MOINES     105 

other  lines:  a  place  of  greater  service  awaited 
him.  Grimes  and  Harlan  were  to  be  the  spokes 
men  for  Iowa  in  the  United  States  Senate 
during  the  period  of  storm  and  stress. 

The  campaign  was  followed  by  three  months 
during  which  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  was  free  to 
devote  himself  to  his  private  business  enter 
prises.  Then  public  affairs  again  claimed  his 
attention,  for  the  time  had  come  for  the  con 
vening  of  the  Seventh  General  Assembly  of 
Iowa.  Instead  of  being  able  to  remain  in  com 
fort  at  his  Coralville  home,  as  had  been  his  good 
fortune  during  the  preceding  legislative  session, 
the  Johnson  County  Senator  must  now  prepare 
for  a  two  months  sojourn  at  the  new  seat  of 
government  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  to 
the  westward.  No  railroad  then  carried  pas 
sengers  over  the  distance  in  less  than  four 
hours.  Members  of  the  legislature,  State  offi 
cers,  and  all  other  citizens  of  southeastern  Iowa 
who  had  business  at  the  capital  must  needs 
patronize  the  Western  Stage  Company,  and 
make  the  journey  in  "the  old  Concord  stage " 
that i l  day  and  night  wallowed  through  the  great 
snow  drifts  that  filled  the  sloughs  and  ravines 
of  the  bleak  unsettled  prairies,  from  Iowa 
City. "  Travelers  sometimes  complained  that 
at  the  eating-houses  along  the  way  stage-coach 
passengers  were  charged  fifty  cents  for  poor 
meals  which  were  given  to  local  patrons  for 
twenty-five  cents.140 


106  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Des  Moinos,  but  recently  emerged  from  the 
conditions  of  a  frontier  military  and  trading 
post,  was,  like  its  Federal  prototype,  a  city  of 
"magnificent  distances",  and  that  was  the  most 
that  could  be  said  for  it  in  1858.  It  was  "a 
little  shabby  frontier  town  of  less  than  3,000 
inhabitants.  .  .  .  The  new  state  house  had 
been  located  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  a  mile 
or  more  from  the  hotels,  and  the  streets  leading 
to  it  were,  for  a  long  distance,  simply  wagon 
tracks  made  through  a  long  stretch  of  low, 
swampy  river  bottom,"  where  vehicles  fre 
quently  became  fast  in  the  mud.  "One  long 
straggling  walk  of  native  lumber  boards, 
warped  and  slippery,  could  be  seen  strung  out 
lonesome  and  wabbling  in  the  direction  of  the 
new  brick  capitol.  The  speculators  in  real 
estate,  who  had  built  the  state  house  on  the  then 
desolate  hill  in  the  distance,  far  from  every 
accommodation  a  rude  frontier  town  possessed, 
had  hastened  to  plat  into  lots,  streets  and  alleys, 
a  vast  region  of  swamp,  woodland,  and  culti 
vated  farms.  Prospectively  they  were  gazing 
anxiously  for  a  mighty  'boom'  which  should  lift 
them  from  poverty  into  millionaires.  But  the 
crash  of  1857  was  lowering  over  the  entire 
country,  and  the  practical  problem  of  bread  and 
butter  was,  for  the  time,  absorbing  their  chief 
attention  and  entire  available  resources." 

"All  was  rude,  with  stumps  of  trees,  perilous 


IN  THE  SENATE  AT  DES  MOINES     107 

ravines  and  walks  made  of  coal  slack ",  wrote 
one  who  was  a  colleague  of  Kirkwood  in  the 
Senate.  "There  were  boarding-houses  on 
streets  indicated  by  a  surveyor's  stake,  or  by  a 
path  through  mud  of  various  consistency, 
according  to  the  weather,  in  which  were  planted 
and  lost  sundry  odd  overshoes  without  a  sug 
gestion  of  a  search  therefor.  It  is  no  legend 
that  by  lanterns  and  blazed  trees  we  made  our 
way  at  night  near  Capitol  Square ' '. 

The  redeeming  feature  of  the  whole  situation 
was  to  be  found  in  the  friendliness  of  the  citi 
zens  of  the  town  who  were  "liberal,  broad- 
gauged,  hospitable  and  hopeful  people. "  None 
of  the  houses  were  large  "but  the  doors  were 
wide,  the  hinges  swung  towards  the  interior, 
and  the  Legislators  who  had  time,  and  were 
given  to  the  social  amenities,  were  everywhere 
generously  entertained. ' '  Parlors  and  sleeping- 
rooms  in  many  homes  were  surrendered  to  im 
portunate  legislators  who  found  lodgings  at  the 
distant  hotels  too  inconvenient  or  too  expensive. 
In  a  word,  because  this  was  the  first  General 
Assembly  to  meet  at  the  new  capital,  the  mem 
bers  received  a  welcome  which  for  genuine 
warmth  was  not  exceeded  in  subsequent 
years.141 

Such  was  the  town  which  Kirkwood,  together 
with  a  majority  of  the  legislators,  saw  for  the 
first  time  early  in  January,  1858.  The  Seventh 


108  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

General  Assembly  convened  on  the  eleventh  day 
of  the  month  in  the  "Old  Brick  Capitol"— a 
building,  erected  by  private  enterprise,  which 
stood  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Soldiers' 
Monument. 

A  large  number  of  the  names  which  appear 
most  frequently  in  the  political  annals  of  Iowa 
are  to  be  found  in  the  list  of  the  members  of 
that  Assembly.  In  the  Senate,  in  addition  to 
many  able,  hold-over  members  from  the  pre 
ceding  session,  there  were  John  W.  Rankin, 
Gideon  S.  Bailey,  W.  H.  M.  Pusey,  David  S. 
Wilson,  and  others  of  scarcely  less  prominence. 
The  House  of  Representatives  likewise  con 
tained  a  whole  galaxy  of  men  who  for  many 
years  were  to  hold  places  of  leadership  in  the 
Commonwealth  —  such  men  as  R.  A.  Richard 
son,  Lincoln  Clark,  D.  A.  Mahoney,  Thomas 
Drummond,  Cyrus  C.  Carpenter,  Stephen  B. 
Shelledy,  William  H.  Seevers,  Edward  N. 
Bates,  P.  B.  Bradley,  B.  F.  Gue,  James  F. 
Wilson,  Laurin  Dewey,  W.  W.  Belknap,  and 
George  W.  McCrary.  William  P.  Hepburn  wTas 
chief  clerk.  It  was  an  able  body  of  men  and  it 
had  important  work  to  do,  for  many  readjust 
ments  in  the  statute  laws  were  made  necessary 
by  the  provisions  of  the  new  Constitution. 

Senator  Kirkwood  was  in  his  seat  when  the 
roll  was  called  on  January  llth,  and  during  the 
succeeding  ten  weeks  he  took  an  active  part  in 


IN  THE  SENATE  AT  DES  MOINES     109 

the  shaping  of  new  legislation.  As  in  the 
previous  session,  he  was  chairman  of  the  Com 
mittee  on  Federal  Relations ;  and  he  was  also  a 
member  of  the  standing  committees  on  Schools 
and  State  University,  Public  Buildings,  and 
Banks,  besides  being  appointed  from  time  to 
time  to  serve  on  special  committees  to  which 
were  assigned  important  measures  for  careful 
consideration.142 

Of  the  ten  bills  introduced  by  Kirkwood  three 
found  their  way  into  the  statute  books.  One, 
relating  to  the  salaries  of  certain  State  officers, 
fixed  the  salary  of  the  Governor  at  two  thou 
sand  dollars.  Another  made  an  improvement 
in  the  law  concerning  mechanics'  lien.  The 
third  was  a  bill  making  an  appropriation  for 
the  State  University.  During  the  process  of 
the  enactment  of  the  last  bill  the  sum  of  money 
involved  was  cut  down  from  twenty-seven  thou 
sand  to  thirteen  thousand  dollars;  and  unsuc 
cessful  attempts  were  made,  first  to  establish  an 
" Agricultural  Professorship"  at  the  Univer 
sity,  and  later  to  stipulate  that  none  of  the 
money  appropriated  for  building  purposes 
should  be  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  until  an 
equal  sum  had  been  raised  from  private 
sources.143 

Among  the  seven  bills  introduced  by  Kirk- 
wood  which  fell  by  the  wayside  was  one  pro 
viding  a  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars  for  the 


110  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

corresponding  secretary  of  The  State  Historical 
Society.  The  sum  was  reduced  to  three  hundred 
dollars  and  in  this  crippled  condition  the  bill 
for  a  time  gave  signs  of  vitality,  but  its  life  was 
snuffed  out  in  the  rush  of  matters  at  the  close 
of  the  session.144 

In  the  amendment  of  bills  introduced  by 
others  Kirkwood  was  somewhat  more  success 
ful  than  in  securing  the  enactment  of  his  own 
measures.145  Especially  in  the  law  establishing 
a  State  Bank  with  five  or  more  branches  are  to 
be  found  several  sections  or  important  clauses 
which  stand  word  for  word  as  he  presented 
them  in  the  Senate  as  amendments  to  the  orig 
inal  bill.140  The  epoch-making  law  of  1858 
relative  to  public  education  also  bears  the 
impress  of  his  ideas  in  the  portions  dealing  with 
high  schools  and  school  funds.147 

Kirkwood 's  reports  and  his  actions  on  the 
Committee  on  Federal  Relations  apparently 
attracted  the  greatest  public  attention  at  the 
time,  for  the  relations  between  the  Republican 
Iowa  legislature  and  the  Democratic  Federal 
authorities  were  anything  but  friendly  at  this 
period.  On  March  12th,  in  behalf  of  the  com 
mittee,  he  reported  a  memorial  and  joint  reso 
lution  which  was  adopted  without  amendment, 
declaring  that  "should  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  at  its  present  session  neglect  or 
refuse  to  comply  with  the  prayer  of  a  certain 


IN  THE  SENATE  AT  DBS  MOINES     HI 

memorial  passed  during  the  present  session  of 
the  General  Assembly,  in  regard  to  the  five  per 
cent  fund,  claimed  to  be  due  the  State,  the  Gov 
ernor  is  hereby  authorized  and  required  to 
institute  a  suit  in  the  Court  of  Claims  in  the 
name  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  State  against 
the  United  States,  for  the  recovery  of  any 
amount  that  may  be  found  due  the  State".148 

A  note  even  more  defiant  was  sounded  in 
another  joint  resolution  which  Kirkwood  intro 
duced  as  chairman  of  the  committee  and  which, 
it  is  safe  to  say,  he  had  a  large  share  in  writing. 
It  was  a  joint  resolution  "touching  the  opinions 
of  some  of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  on  political  questions  incor 
porated  in  the  opinion  of  that  Court  in  the  case 
of  Scott  vs.  Sanford."  The  decision  was 
branded  as  entirely  " extra-judicial' '  and  as  one 
which  was  "conclusive  proof  of  the  settled 
determination  of  the  slavery  propagandists  to 
subvert  all  those  high  and  holy  principles  of 
freedom  upon  which  the  American  Union  was 
formed,  and  to  degrade  it  from  its  intended 
lofty  position  of  the  examplar  and  bulwark  of 
freedom,  into  a  mere  engine  for  the  extension 
and  perpetuation  of  the  barbarous  and  detest 
able  system  of  chattel  slavery. " 

Therefore  it  was  resolved  "as  the  sense  of 
the  people  of  Iowa"  that  the  "opinion  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  the  case  of  Dred  Scott  is  not 


112  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

binding  in  law  or  conscience  upon  the  govern 
ment  or  people  of  the  United  States",  and  that 
"we  should  be  ungrateful  to  those  whose  care 
and  foresight  provided  for  us  free  homes,  and 
derelict  in  our  duty  to  those  who  will  come  after 
us,  did  we  not  promptly  and  sternly  denounce 
this  new  doctrine,  which  if  established,  de 
grades  the  Free  States,  and  either  confines  free 
labor  within  its  present  limits  or  sends  it  into 
our  new  Territories  in  degrading  competition 
with  slave  labor."  While  it  was  admitted  that 
"any  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one 
State,  under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into 
another  State  may  be  reclaimed,  not  as  prop 
erty  but  as  a  person,  who  by  the  laws  of  the 
State  whence  he  escaped,  owes,  and  by  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  is  capable  of 
owing,  a  debt  of  service  or  labor  which  he  must 
discharge",  it  was  emphatically  declared  that 
"the  State  of  Iowa  will  not  allow  slavery  within 
her  borders,  in  any  form  or  under  any  pretext, 
for  any  time,  however  short,  be  the  conse 
quences  what  they  may." 

The  resolution,  without  a  change,  was 
adopted  by  a  strict  party  vote  in  both  houses  of 
the  legislature,  and  stood  on  the  statute  books 
as  the  official  expression  of  the  attitude  of  a 
majority  of  the  people  of  Iowa  on  slavery 
extension  in  general  and  the  Dred  Scott  decision 
in  particular.149 


IN  THE  SENATE  AT  DES  MOINES     113 

During  the  winter  the  citizens  of  Des  Moines, 
in  order  to  express  their  welcome  in  a  collective 
manner,  tendered  a  reception  to  the  members  of 
the  General  Assembly  and  the  State  officers. 
4 'The  festivities  occurred  in  the  Sherman  Hall. 
.  .  .  It  was  a  whole-souled  western  *  blow 
out'.  The  lamps  (literally)  shone  over  fair 
women  and  entranced  Legislators  until  after 
the  midnight  hour,  and  the  dance  and  prom 
enade  still  went  on."150 

Not  wishing  to  appear  unappreciative  of  the 
generous  hospitality  extended  to  them,  the  legis 
lature  early  in  March  considered  a  concurrent 
resolution  granting  the  use  of  the  hall  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  the  Senate  chamber, 
the  Supreme  Court  room,  and  the  Library  to  a 
committee  on  arrangements,  of  which  Kirkwood 
was  a  member  and  subsequently  chairman,  "for 
the  purpose  of  giving  a  festival  to  the  citizens 
of  Des  Homes."  "A  little  discussion  sprang 
up  upon  the  passage  of  this  resolution.  One 
moved  to  strike  out  ' Library,'  and  another 
'Supreme  Court  Room,'  expressing  a  doubt  as 
to  the  constitutionality  of  using  rooms  which 
had  been  set  apart  for  these  purposes  for  such 
an  affair  as  a  festival.  But  the  imagination  of 
the  entire  Assembly  snuffed  the  aroma  of  the 
forthcoming  spread,  and  before  their  eyes 
flitted  the  beauty  and  intelligence  of  the  city,  so 
all  constitutional  scruples  were  silenced  and  the 
resolution  passed  unanimously." 


114  SAMUEL  J.  KIHKWOOD 

Senator  Kirkwood,  as  chairman  of  the  com 
mittee,  circulated  a  subscription  paper  and 
each  member  contributed  ten  dollars  to  the 
festival  fund.  And  so,  on  the  evening  of  March 
18th  a  gay  crowd  thronged  the  Old  Brick  Cap 
itol.  The  desks  and  carpet  had  been  removed 
from  the  hall  of  the  house  and  here  until  early 
morning  were  heard  the  strains  of  lively  music 
and  the  sound  of  dancing  feet.  The  Senate 
chamber  was  given  over  to  the  promenaders, 
while  "an  elaborate  feast"  was  spread  in  the 
Supreme  Court  room.151 

Five  days  later  the  Seventh  General  Assem 
bly  adjourned  sine  die,  after  having  enacted 
many  laws  of  fundamental  importance  in  the 
history  of  the  State. 

By  the  close  of  the  session  Samuel  J.  Kirk- 
wood  came  to  be  recognized  as  one  of  the  most 
influential  members  of  the  Senate.  "He  was 
not  a  frequent  speaker,  but  when  he  had  occa 
sion  to  express  his  views,  it  was  always  in  a 
familiar,  conversational  manner  that  won  the 
confidence  of  his  hearers.  .  .  .  He  made  no 
pretense  to  oratory,  and  delivered  no  long, 
carefully  prepared  speeches ;  but  his  common 
sense  and  judgment  led  him  to  correct  conclu 
sions.  He  was  never  brilliant,  but  always  solid 
and  reliable."152 

That  he  was  respected  by  Democrats  as  well 
as  by  his  co-partisans  is  illustrated  by  an  inci- 


IN  THE  SENATE  AT  DES  MOINES     115 

dent  described  many  years  later  by  H.  H. 
Trimble.  Early  in  the  session,  it  appears, 
Senator  Kirkwood  introduced  a  series  of  reso 
lutions  relative  to  banking.  "Mr.  Pusey's  seat 
was  right  opposite  mine, M  says  Mr.  Trimble, 
"and  he  was  a  new  man  in  this  State;  very 
young  in  age  and  politics,  too.  Kirkwood  got 
up,  kind  of  got  his  hands  under  his  clothing, 
looked  around  in  a  queer,  careless  sort  of  man 
ner;  a  man  with  a  big  head;  long  hair  hanging 
down  like  an  Indian's,  and  of  swarthy  com 
plexion;  very  slowly  and  deliberately  read  his 
resolutions  and  after  he  got  through  made  a 
few  desultory  remarks.  Mr.  Pusey  leaned  over 
and  in  a  whisper  asked  me  who  that  was.  I 
told  him,  'Some  old  farmer  from  up  in  the 
country  here.  Get  up  and  go  for  him. '  He  got 
up  and  went  for  him,  and  he  found  out  who 
Kirkwood  was."153 


XI 

DIRECTOR  OF  THE  STATE  BANK  OF  IOWA 

FOR  the  first  time  since  December,  1856,  Mr. 
Kirkwood  was  now  free  to  give  his  thoughts 
and  energies,  without  much  serious  interrup 
tion,  to  his  private  business  affairs.  It  is  true 
that  he  was  still  chairman  of  the  Republican 
State  Central  Committee,  and  that  he  made  at 
least  one  political  speech  —  at  Cedar  Kapids  on 
August  6th. irj4  But  the  rivalry  was  not  so 
intense  in  the  campaign  of  this  year,  when  there 
was  no  Governor  to  be  chosen,  and  thus  par 
tisan  needs  made  fewer  demands  upon  his  time. 
The  prosperity  which  had  attended  the  enter 
prises  of  Clark  and  Kirkwood  during  the  three 
years  since  the  arrival  of  the  junior  partner 
enabled  both  men  to  take  advantage  of  a  new 
opportunity  which  was  offered  to  persons  of 
means  during  the  summer  of  1858.  One  of  the 
most  important  acts  of  the  Seventh  General 
Assembly  was  the  law  establishing  the  State 
Bank  of  Iowa  —  a  law  which  contained  many 
provisions  introduced  by  Senator  Kirkwood  for 
the  purpose  of  placing  the  institution  upon  a 
firm  basis. 

116 


DIRECTOR  OF  STATE  BANK          117 

This  new  measure  was  hailed  with  great  satis 
faction,  especially  by  the  business  men  of  the 
State,  for  the  financial  situation  in  Iowa  was 
desperate.  During  the  years  of  the  Territorial 
period  the  people  had  passed  through  a  bitter 
experience  with  the  numerous  "  wild-cat M 
banks  which  flooded  the  West  with  worthless 
notes.  As  a  result,  the  Constitution  of  1846, 
under  which  Iowa  was  admitted  into  the  Union, 
contained  a  provision  absolutely  prohibiting 
banks  of  issue;  and  the  legislature  hastened  to 
impose  penalties  for  violations.  But  as  the 
years  went  by  sentiment  gradually  changed. 
Thousands  of  people  came  into  the  State  from 
Ohio,  Indiana,  and  other  Commonwealths  where 
wisely  guarded  banking  institutions  enjoyed  a 
deserved  public  confidence.  Besides,  it  was  not 
long  until  many  of  those  who  had  been  most 
emphatically  opposed  to  banks  of  issue  came  to 
realize  that  the  constitutional  prohibition  was 
working  hardship  to  the  business  interests  of 
the  State.  Circulating  medium  became  very 
scarce,  and  much  of  it,  consisting  of  notes  of 
local  banks  in  other  States,  was  almost  "on  a 
par  with  the  forest  leaves  of  autumn "  during 
the  panic  of  1857.  "In  those  days  in  Iowa  the 
two  most  important  books  that  every  business 
man  needed  were  a  Bible  and  a  counterfeit 
detector.  And  of  these  two,  the  detector 
seemed  to  be  the  most  important  for  at  least 
six  days  out  of  the  seven  ",155 


118  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Thus  it  was  that,  "acting  on  the  belief  enter 
tained  by  business  men  generally,  that  one  effect 
of  the  creation  of  banks  of  issue  in  our  own 
State,  would  be  to  drive  out  of  its  borders  all 
this  miscellaneous  hodge-podge  called  money", 
the  restriction  upon  banking  institutions  was 
removed  when  the  new  Constitution  of  1857  was 
drafted  and  adopted.  The  legislature  was 
given  power  to  pass  a  general  banking  law  and 
also  to  create  a  State  Bank,  but  such  laws  were 
not  to  go  into  effect  until  ratified  by  a  vote  of 
the  people.150 

Popular  approval  was  readily  accorded  the 
law  of  the  Seventh  General  Assembly  creating 
the  State  Bank  of  Iowa,  which  was  to  consist  of 
as  many  branches,  not  exceeding  thirty,  as  were 
organized  and  qualified  in  compliance  with  the 
requirements  of  the  law.  The  State  Bank  itself 
was  merely  the  central  governing  body,  with  an 
office  at  Iowa  City,  which  passed  regulations 
for  the  conduct  of  the  branches  and  supplied  the 
branches  with  the  circulating  medium  in  the 
form  of  bank  notes  which  the  institution  was 
authorized  to  issue.  Commissioners  were  ap 
pointed  for  the  purpose  of  inaugurating  the 
plan,  after  which  full  authority  was  vested  in  a 
Board  of  Directors  consisting  of  one  repre 
sentative  from  each  branch  bank  and  three 
persons  elected  by  the  General  Assembly.157 

At  Iowa  City,  as  in  the  other  principal  towns 


DIRECTOR  OF  STATE  BANK          H9 

of  the  State,  persons  with  money  to  invest  only 
awaited  the  adoption  of  the  law  by  the  people 
to  launch  out  on  the  new  enterprise.  On  August 
llth  there  appeared  in  a  newspaper  a  public 
notice,  signed  by  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  and  ten 
other  men,  announcing  that  they  had  associated 
together  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  in  Iowa 
City  a  branch  of  the  State  Bank,  and  that  the 
book  for  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock 
would  be  opened  on  September  first  at  the  law 
office  of  Edmonds  and  Ransom.158  Subscribers 
needed  no  urging  and  in  a  short  time  a  sufficient 
amount  of  stock  was  taken.  Kirkwood  was  the 
largest  stockholder,  having  seventy-six  shares, 
purchased  at  one  hundred  dollars  a  share.  On 
September  16th  the  stockholders  met  and 
selected  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  John  Powell, 
Edward  Connelly,  E.  Shepherd,  C.  T.  Eansom, 
Kimball  Porter,  and  Theodore  Sanxay  as 
Directors  of  the  Iowa  City  Branch  of  the  State 
Bank  of  Iowa.159 

Soon  afterward  Kirkwood  was  chosen  to  rep 
resent  the  Iowa  City  branch  as  a  member  of  the 
general  Board  of  Directors  of  the  State  Bank. 
At  the  first  meeting  of  the  board,  on  October  27, 
1858,  he  was  made  president  pro  tempore  and 
served  in  that  capacity  until  Mr.  Chester  Weed 
was  elected  permanent  president.  Subsequently 
he  became  a  member  of  the  executive  committee, 
as  well  as  of  various  special  committees  of  the 


120  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

l)oard.  The  records  indicate  that  he  performed 
his  full  share  of  the  duties  of  a  director  until 
his  resignation  in  the  summer  of  1859.100  To 
him,  therefore,  is  due  some  credit  for  helping  to 
establish  an  institution  which  for  about  seven 
years  "served  its  day  to  good  purpose  and  per 
formed  in  good  faith  all  its  promises."1"1 

In  the  meantime  Clark  and  Kirkwood  sold 
their  store  in  Iowa  City  to  Thomas  J.  Cox  who, 
it  was  announced,  would  "continue  doing  busi 
ness  at  the  old  stand  but  in  his  own  name  and 
on  his  own  account.  "1(i-  By  this  time,  however, 
Kirkwood  had  become  thoroughly  identified 
with  the  business  interests  of  the  town.  Late 
in  October  his  name  appeared  at  the  head  of  a 
list  of  the  members  of  a  "general  committee" 
of  citizens  whose  function  was  the  promotion  of 
manufacturing  in  Iowa  City.ir>:! 

He  was  also  a  delegate  to  a  State  Railroad 
Convention  held  at  Iowa  City  on  December 
first.  As  a  member  of  a  committee  of  this  con 
vention  he  signed  a  minority  report  which 
declared  that  the  credit  of  the  State  could  not 
be  loaned  to  railroad  companies  without  a 
change  in  the  Constitution.  Failing  in  this 
manner  to  impress  the  delegates  with  the 
desirability  of  caution,  lie  later  proposed  an 
amendment  to  the  majority  report  to  the  effect 
that  if  the  policy  of  State  aid  to  railroads 
should  be  adopted  then  the  State  should  assume 


DIRECTOR  OF  STATE  BANK          121 

the  debts  already  contracted  by  cities  and 
counties.  But  the  convention,  almost  wild  in  its 
enthusiasm  to  secure  railroads  at  any  cost,  paid 
little  heed  to  the  advice  of  one  who  had  seen  the 
after  effects  of  just  such  a  public  improvement 
fever  in  Ohio.164 

At  the  same  time  Kirkwood  was  fully  aware 
of  the  great  development  of  the  State  which 
would  follow  the  extension  of  railroads  over  the 
prairies.  In  June,  1859,  he  journeyed  to  Cedar 
Eapids  to  attend  the  celebration  of  the  com 
pletion  of  the  "Chicago,  Iowa  and  Nebraska 
Eailroad ' '  to  that  point  —  a  celebration  which 
was  participated  in  not  only  by  the  people  of 
Cedar  Eapids  and  vicinity  but  by  delegations 
from  Chicago  and  the  towns  along  the  Missis 
sippi.165 

Amid  all  these  business  activities  Kirkwood 
still  found  some  time  for  the  social  amenities 
and  for  participation  in  the  organized  life  of 
the  community.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Iowa 
City  Lecture  Association  formed  during  the 
winter  of  1858-1859 ;  and  in  March,  1859,  he  was 
elected  as  a  rural  school  director  for  Iowa  City 
Township.166  Most  of  all  he  enjoyed  the  quiet, 
informal  visits  with  neighbors  and  friends  and 
the  pleasures  of  his  own  home ;  for  throughout 
his  life  he  was  a  great  home-lover.  He  was 
always  glad  of  the  rare  opportunities  for  read 
ing,  and  although  the  political  news  of  the  day 


122  SAMUEL  J.  K1KKWOOD 

was  the  all-absorbing  topic,  his  tastes  ranged 
far  and  wide  in  the  field  of  literature.107 

It  was  well  that  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  thus 
found  a  year  of  comparative  peace ;  for  he  was 
soon  to  pass  through  the  fire  of  one  of  the  bit 
terest  political  campaigns  in  the  history  of 
Iowa,  after  which  his  common  sense  and  good 
judgment  were  to  be  subjected  to  the  severest 
tests  ever  required  of  a  Governor  of  the  Com 
monwealth. 


XII 

KIRKWOOD  AGAINST  DODGE 

THE  time  for  another  State  election  was  now 
approaching;  and  the  two  leading  political 
parties  were  so  evenly  matched  in  Iowa  and  the 
feeling  of  partisanship  so  strong  that  the  con 
test  was  bound  to  be  sharp  and  exciting.  When 
or  by  whom  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  was  persuaded 
to  enter  the  race  for  the  governorship  are  mat 
ters  upon  which  there  is  no  record.  It  may 
safely  be  assumed  that  James  W.  Grimes  used 
his  influence  to  that  end,  though  not  for  the 
selfish  reason  later  attributed  to  him.168 

At  any  rate  it  is  evident  that  the  nomination 
of  Kirkwood  by  the  Republican  party  in  June, 
1859,  was  not  unsought,  in  spite  of  his  reluc 
tance  at  first  to  become  a  candidate.  Early  in 
the  year  he  began  to  receive  letters  which  indi 
cate  that  he  had  made  the  decision  and  had 
embarked  on  the  campaign  in  no  half-hearted 
manner.  On  March  10th  W.  W.  Hamilton 
wrote  saying  that  as  far  as  he  could  learn  the 
choice  of  the  Republicans  of  northern  Iowa  was 
first  for  Kirkwood,  second  for  George  G. 
Wright,  and  third  for  Ralph  P.  Lowe.169  "The 

123 


124  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

idea  of  your  nomination  for  Governor  takes 
well  with  every  Republican  to  whom  I  have 
mentioned  it,  and  I  have  talked  with  a  good 
many  from  different  parts  of  the  State",  wrote 
James  F.  Wilson  from  Fail-field  a  few  weeks 
later.170 

Nicholas  J.  Rusch  of  Davenport,  who  was  to 
be  Kirkwood 's  running-mate,  wrote  on  April 
20 th  expressing  his  gratification  because  Kirk- 
wood  was  willing  to  be  a  candidate.  He  urged 
the  choice  of  AY.  W.  Hamilton  for  Lieutenant 
Governor,  since  he  was  an  "adopted  citizen" 
and  would  satisfy  the  Germans.  As  for  him 
self,  he  felt  that  his  "broken  English  and  little 
experience  are  not  proper  qualifications  for  an 
office  of  that  nature."171  "By  the  mail  that 
takes  you  this,"  wrote  Thomas  Drummond, 
editor  of  the  Vint  on  Eagle,  "I  send  a  copy  of 
my  paper  in  which  I  have  hoisted  your  name  as 
a  Candidate  for  Governor.  ...  I  have  as 
yet  no  knowledge  whether  you  will  be  a  candi 
date  of  your  own  motion,  but  trust  that  you 
will".  The  following  day  the  same  writer 
urged  Kirkwood  to  make  the  acquaintance  of 
"Charley  Aldrich"  of  Webster  City,  editor  of 
the  Hamilton  Freeman,  who  wielded  great  in 
fluence  in  his  portion  of  the  State.17-  By  May 
25th  a  number  of  Iowa  newspapers  had  come 
out  in  favor  of  Kirkwood  as  the  Republican 
candidate  for  Governor.17" 


CANDIDATE  FOR  GOVERNOR          125 

Thus  when  the  Republican  State  Convention 
met  at  Des  Moines  on  June  22,  1859,  the  only 
restraint  upon  the  enthusiastic  sentiment  in 
favor  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  was  the  knowl 
edge  that  Ralph  P.  Lowe  was  still  desirous  of  a 
renomination.  Governor  Lowe  had  given  satis 
faction  to  the  members  of  the  party  during  his 
administration,  and  he  was  a  man  held  in  high 
esteem  throughout  the  State.  But  he  lacked  the 
qualities  required  of  a  great  leader  of  the 
people.  The  lowering  clouds  in  the  political 
sky  made  the  Republicans  feel  that  they  must 
have  at  the  helm  a  man  who  would  represent 
their  principles  on  the  slavery  question  more 
vigorously  —  a  man  more  capable  of  inspiring 
the  loj^alty  and  devotion  of  all  classes  of 
citizens. 

At  the  same  time  the  managers  hesitated  to 
offer  a  direct  rebuff  to  a  faithful  leader  of  the 
party,  whose  wish  to  be  retained  in  the  Gov 
ernor's  chair  for  another  term  was  not  only 
natural  but  fully  justified  by  his  record.  In  the 
effort  to  relieve  the  embarrassing  situation 
Lowe  was  urged  to  accept  a  nomination  as 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.174  But  no 
decision  had  been  reached  when  the  convention 
met. 

A  permanent  organization  was  effected  after 
the  usual  preliminaries  and  Timothy  Davis  of 
Dubuque  County  was  chosen  president.  Finally 


126  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

a  motion  was  made  to  proceed  to  an  informal 
ballot  for  Governor,  but  before  this  ballot  could 
be  taken  the  presiding  officer  announced  that  he 
had  a  communication  which  he  would  read  to 
the  convention.  "Understanding  that  great 
diversity  of  sentiment  exists  in  your  body,  as  it 
relates  to  the  subject  of  your  next  candidate  for 
the  office  of  Governor,"  was  the  message  which 
came  from  Ealph  P.  Lowe,  "and  believing  my 
self  that  there  is  danger  of  compromising  the 
harmony  of  the  party  ....  I  beg  to  with 
draw  my  name  as  a  candidate  for  renomination 
for  the  Chief  Executive  of  the  State." 

A  deep  sigh  of  relief  must  have  been  uttered 
by  many  delegates  as  they  listened  to  this  mes 
sage  of  withdrawal.  Immediately,  on  motion  of 
Lewis  Todhunter  of  Warren  County,  Kirkwood 
"was  nominated  for  Governor,  by  acclamation, 
amid  the  prolonged  cheers  of  the  delegates." 
Nicholas  J.  Eusch  wras  nominated  for  Lieuten 
ant  Governor;  and  candidates  for  positions  on 
the  Supreme  Court,  including  Kalph  P.  Lowe, 
were  chosen.  Kirkwood  addressed  the  conven 
tion  "amid  great  applause".  A  platform  was 
adopted  in  which  opposition  to  the  further 
encroachments  of  the  slave  power,  support  of  a 
liberal  naturalization  law,  and  the  demand  for 
homestead  legislation  were  the  cardinal  prin 
ciples.  Thereupon  the  convention  adjourned 
and  resolved  itself  into  a  monster  ratification 


CANDIDATE  FOR  GOVERNOR          127 

mass  meeting  at  which  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
large  crowd  was  aroused  by  speeches  by  James 
Harlan,  Samuel  R.  Curtis,  C.  C.  Nourse,  and 
other  orators  of  the  party.175 

"I  hope  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  say  to 
you  how  much  I  am  gratified  at  your  nomina 
tion  'V76  wrote  James  W.  Grimes  on  the  day 
after  the  holding  of  the  convention.  Kirkwood 
was  the  recipient  of  scores  of  other  letters  of 
congratulation.  "He  has  few  superiors  as  a 
political  canvasser ;  uniformly  impressing  those 
who  hear  him  with  a  conviction  of  his  sincerity 
and  his  devotion  to  right ",  was  Editor  John 
Teesdale's  comment  on  the  nomination.177 

The  die  had  been  cast  and  the  battle  must  be 
fought.  Having  once  taken  into  his  hands  the 
banner  of  his  party,  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  was 
not  the  man  to  allow  it  to  go  down  in  defeat. 
Consequently  he  laid  aside  all  private  affairs 
and  prepared  for  an  endurance-testing  cam 
paign  which  was  not  to  end  until  the  day  of  the 
election.  Nor  was  there  wanting  a  host  of  loyal 
supporters  ready  to  labor  early  and  late  in  his 
behalf — among  them  being  a  young  man  named 
William  B.  Allison  who  performed  his  first 
political  service  in  Iowa  during  this  cam 
paign.178  Never  before  and  seldom  since  was 
the  Republican  party  so  thoroughly  organized 
or  so  intensely  in  earnest. 

There  was  good  cause  for  all  this  activity, 


128  SAMUEL  J.  KJRKWOOD 

for  on  June  23rd  the  Democrats  met  in  State 
convention  and  by  acclamation  nominated 
Augustus  Caesar  Dodge  as  their  candidate  for 
Governor.  Here  was  an  opponent  not  easily  to 
be  defeated.  Wise  in  the  experience  of  long 
years  in  the  public  service,  honest  and  upright 
in  his  private  life,  Dodge  was  assuredly  the 
favorite  and  most  able  son  of  the  Democracy  of 
Iowa.  As  Register  of  the  Land  Office  at 
Burlington,  as  Delegate  to  Congress,  and  as 
United  States  Senator  he  had  been  zealous  in 
his  devotion  to  the  interests  of  his  constituents ; 
and  at  the  time  of  his  nomination  he  had  not  yet 
returned  to  Iowa  from  Spain,  where  for  four 
years  he  had  represented  the  United  States  as 
Minister  at  the  court  of  Queen  Isabella.179 

Republican  editors  were  quick  to  see  political 
capital  in  the  differences  in  the  character  and 
records  of  the  two  candidates.  "One  is  fresh 
from  the  ranks  of  the  people,  is  in  sympathy 
with  them,  understanding  and  appreciating 
their  wants  and  feelings",  asserted  an  Oska- 
loosa  editor.  "The  other,  after  a  long  absence 
from  home,  basking  in  the  sunshine  of  royal 
favor,  and  mingling  with  the  lords  and  ladies 
who  cluster  around  and  constitute  the  aristo 
cratic  Court  of  Spain  comes  back  to  the  plain 
people  of  Iowa,  wearing  with  him  tender  tokens 
of  the  Queen's  sympathetic  regard;  his  man 
ners,  his  ideas  of  government,  all  differing  from 


CANDIDATE  FOR  GOVERNOR          129 

those  of  the  people  whom  he  proposes  to 
govern."180 

The  Republican  candidate  also  received  early 
hints  of  the  abuse  and  misrepresentation  to 
which  both  candidates  were  to  be  subjected  as 
the  campaign  progressed.  On  June  26th  Grimes 
sounded  a  note  of  warning  to  the  effect  that 
Fitz  Henry  Warren,  supposedly  a  supporter  of 
Kirkwood,  was  spreading  the  report  that  while 
Grimes  and  Kirkwood  were  canvassing  north 
eastern  Iowa  together  two  years  before  a  bar 
gain  had  been  made  whereby  the  former  was  to 
be  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  in  1858, 
while  the  latter  was  to  secure  the  nomination 
for  Governor,  canvass  the  State,  and  then  come 
out  for  Harlan 's  place  in  the  Senate  in  1860. 
This  story  was  concocted  in  the  effort  to  preju 
dice  the  friends  of  James  Harlan  and  of  other 
aspirants  for  the  senatorship  against  Kirk 
wood.181  Happily  Senator  Harlan  was  appar 
ently  not  alarmed  by  this  rumor  which  soon 
reached  his  ears.  "Let  us  pull  together  — 
elect  the  State  ticket  and  the  Legislature,"  he 
wrote  Kirkwood,  "and  consequences  will  take 
care  of  themselves."182 

Opposing  newspapers  soon  took  a  hand  in  the 
opening  skirmishes.  From  Davenport  came  the 
accusation  that  Kirkwood  was  a  banker  who 
loaned  money  at  three  per  cent  a  month.  The 
reply  from  Iowa  City  was  that  he  owned  some 

10 


130  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

stock  in  the  branch  bank  and  was  a  director  of 
the  State  Bank.  Otherwise  he  was  "a  farmer, 
and  a  practical  farmer/'18-1  Charges  and  coun 
tercharges  were  hurled  back  and  forth  regard 
ing  the  efforts  to  arrange  for  a  series  of  joint 
debates,  for  with  the  Lincoln-Douglas  debates 
of  the  previous  year  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of 
everyone  this  method  of  campaigning  was  still 
the  most  popular  and  effective.  Each  side 
taunted  the  opposing  candidate  with  being 
afraid  to  enter  a  personal  contest.  In  this  the 
Republicans  had  the  advantage  of  appearances. 
Augustus  C.  Dodge  did  not  reach  Iowa  until 
July  9th  and  so  the  managers  of  his  campaign 
were  forced  to  delay  their  plans,  giving  their 
opponents  the  advantage  of  issuing  the  chal 
lenge. 

"It  is  time  the  appointments  were  arranged 
and  announced;  and  it  is  time  that  Mr.  Dodge 
found  a  response  to  a  call  so  promptly  given", 
declared  Editor  Teesdale  of  Des  Moines  on 
July  13th.  "Our  veteran  candidate  desires  to 
commence  his  labors  as  soon  as  he  gets  through 
with  his  wheat  harvest.  When  he  has  threshed 
out  his  grain  he  would  like  to  do  the  same  ser 
vice  for  the  distinguished  gentleman  from  the 
Court  of  Spain".  A  week  later  he  notified  his 
readers  that  Dodge  had  not  yet  accepted  the 
invitation  to  meet  Kirkwood  in  debate.184 

Meanwhile  Kirkwood  was  not  idle.    On  Julv 


CANDIDATE  FOR  GOVERNOR          131 

8th  he  made  his  appearance  at  Davenport.  A 
mass  meeting  was  hurriedly  arranged  for  the 
evening;  and  there,  in  the  courthouse  yard, 
"under  the  mellow  light  of  the  moon",  he  spoke 
to  "an  immense  gathering"  for  over  an  hour 
"in  his  own  peculiarly  felicitous  and  unanswer 
able  manner.  ...  A  fine  band  added  to  the 
interest  of  the  meeting"  and  "the  utmost  en 
thusiasm  prevailed."185 

Far  different  in  tone  w^as  the  comment  on 
this  meeting  made  by  a  Davenport  editor  of  the 
Democratic  persuasion.  With  a  scurrility  all 
too  common  in  newspaperdom  at  that  day  he 
observed  that  "We  don't  care  a  copper  whether 
Sam  Kirkwood  smells  rank  and  strong  of  sweat 
and  dirt,  so  long  as  he  remains  at  home  among 
his  hogs  —  or  in  Iowa  City  among  his  associ 
ates,  money  shavers ;  but  in  the  name  of  all  that 
is  decent  we  protest  against  electing  a  man 
Governor  of  the  great  State  of  Iowa,  who  don't 
know  enough  to  keep  himself  clean";  and  there 
was  more  of  the  same  character.186 

Indignant  at  this  unwarranted  attack  upon 
their  candidate,  Eepublican  editors  over  the 
State  could  scarcely  find  words  in  which  to 
express  their  resentment.  "Savages  in  their 
rude  wigwam  villages  would  not  so  treat  a  guest 
of  theirs",  wrote  Editor  Jerome  of  Iowa 
City.187  "Mr.  K.  is  at  all  times,  and  in  all 
places,  plain  in  his  garb,  and  careless  in  his 


132  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

toilet",  was  the  statement  of  John  Teesdale. 
"But  we  never  met  with  him  anywhere,  when 
he  could  be  charged  with  a  want  of  cleanliness 
in  person  or  garb."188  And  this,  it  is  believed, 
may  be  accepted  as  the  verdict  of  all  those,  both 
friends  and  foes,  who  knew  Kirkwood  in  his 
daily  life. 

On  the  day  following  his  speech  at  Daven 
port  Mr.  Kirkwood  journeyed  by  boat  down  the 
Mississippi  River  to  Burlington  and  was  in  that 
city  on  the  clay  Augustus  C.  Dodge  arrived  at 
home  after  his  long  absence.  "Both  were  un 
heralded",  was  the  report  in  a  Republican 
newspaper.  "This  was  a  matter  of  course, 
with  the  plain  Republican,  who  had  sent  no 
notice  of  his  coming;  but  after  the  protracted 
absence  of  the  last  and  least  of  the  Caesars,  an 
entree  thus  unmarked  must  have  been  rather 
mortifying".  Kirkwood  remained  over  Sunday 
in  the  river  city,  and  on  Monday  met  Dodge  for 
the  first  time.  A  fewT  days  later  at  Muscatine 
he  spoke  "in  complimentary  terms  of  his  com 
petitor's  appearance  and  manners."189 

While  waiting  for  the  reply  of  the  Dodge 
forces  in  regard  to  the  holding  of  joint  debates 
a  long  list  of  speaking  appointments  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  State  was  arranged  for 
Kirkwood,  beginning  on  July  25th  at  Muscatine, 
where  it  was  "regretted  that  prudential  reasons 
relating  to  the  health  of  Mr.  K.  must  for  the 


CANDIDATE  FOR  GOVERNOR          133 

present  prevent  him  from  speaking  in  the  most 
popular  way  —  that  is,  in  the  open  air."190 
Having  been  instrumental  in  planning  Kirk- 
wood  's  campaign  in  certain  counties  in  the 
southern  tier,  John  A.  Kasson  informed  him  by 
letter  that  the  people  in  those  counties  came 
chiefly  from  southern  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illi 
nois,  and  were  * '  scared  at  the  idea  of  abolition 
ism  ".  "It  will  be  well  for  you  to  run  your 
Maryland  birth  a  little  down  there",  was  his 
advice,  "and  to  pitch  into  Democracy,  the  real 
agitators  of  the  slavery  question".191 

About  this  time  the  Bloomfield  Clarion,  a 
Democratic  sheet,  unwittingly  furnished  the 
opposition  with  ammunition  by  referring  to  the 
Republican  ticket  as  the  "Plough-handle 
Ticket".  This  term,  used  in  opprobrium,  was 
eagerly  seized  upon  by  Republican  editors, 
many  of  whom  placed  it  at  the  head  of  their 
editorial  columns,  sometimes  accompanied  by  a 
cut  of  a  plow.192  Although  the  Democrats  real 
ized  the  mistake,  and  one  editor  sought  to 
counteract  its  effect  by  charging  that  Kirkwood 
and  Rusch  "made  their  farms  by  land  sharking 
and  loaning  money  at  3  per  cent  per  month",193 
they  were  unable  to  wage  successful  combat 
against  an  idea  which  was  no  doubt  worked  for 
all  it  was  worth  by  the  Republicans.  There  is 
no  evidence,  however,  that  Kirkwood  himself 
made  any  insincere  efforts,  as  regards  dress  or 


134  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

manners,  to  appeal  to  the  supposed  prejudices 
of  farmers  and  laboring  men. 

Late  in  July  the  challenge  to  joint  debate 
was  accepted  by  Dodge  and  the  first  public  con 
test  between  the  two  men  occurred  at  Oskaloosa 
on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  the  month.  The 
speeches  furnished  sufficient  excitement,  with  a 
liberal  amount  of  amusement,  to  hold  the  large 
crowd  all  through  the  afternoon  and  to  bring 
them  back  in  the  evening  to  listen  for  two  or 
three  additional  hours. 

"Did  you  not  sustain  the  Compromise  Meas 
ures  of  1850?"  asked  Dodge  in  the  course  of 
the  debate.  "I  did  sustain  those  measures," 
replied  Kirkwood,  "in  the  spirit  in  which  their 
adoption  was  urged;  not  because  I  liked  them 
all,  but  as  a  Compromise,  in  which  both  parties 
were  expected  to  surrender  something  for  the 
sake  of  peace,  and  a  final  settlement  of  the 
vexed  question." 

"Mr.  Kirkwood,  would  you  obey  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law?"  was  the  Democratic  candidate's 
next  question.  To  this  Kirkwood  replied:  "I 
would  not  resist  the  enforcement  of  that  Law, 
but  before  I  would  aid  in  capturing  a  fugitive 
slave  I  would  suffer  the  penalty  of  the  law,  but 
I  would  not  aid  into  carrying  it  into  execution." 
Kirkwood  now  "returned  the  compliment"  and 
asked  his  opponent  if  he  would  assist  in  cap 
turing  a  runaway  slave.  "I  would",  said 


CANDIDATE  FOR  GOVERNOR          135 

Dodge.  "I  would  do  whatever  the  law  requires 
me  to  do."194 

The  newspaper  reports  of  this  debate,  as  of 
those  which  followed,  varied  greatly  according 
to  the  party  affiliations  of  the  writers.  "As  he 
[Kirkwood]  warmed  up  with  his  subject," 
wrote  a  not  over-scrupulous  correspondent  to 
the  Democratic  organ  at  Des  Moines,  "he 
descended  to  the  lowest  depths  of  vulgarity  and 
blackguardism.  ...  No  species  of  low  circus- 
acting  clownishness  that  he  would  not  use  for 
effect.  Even  his  political  friends  admit  that  he 
is  a  blackguard,  and  yet  some  of  them  honor 
him  for  it.  "19;i  On  the  other  hand,  Republicans 
in  describing  the  event,  declared  that  "Dodge 
became  furious  threatened  violence,  pistols, 
blunderbusses  &c.";  that  as  "a  specimen  of 
pomposity,  self-importance,  and  self-lauda 
tion,  "  his  speech  "was  hard  to  beat".  Toward 
the  close  of  the  debate  Dodge  was  described  as 
springing  to  his  feet  and  declaring  "that  if 
Mr.  K.  said  that  he  (Gen.  D.)  was  in  favor  of 
the  slave  trade  he  was  a  liar,  and  that,  if  he 
repeated  it,  he  would  'cram  the  lie  down  his 
throat/  Mr.  K.  without  any  excitement  what 
ever,  remarked  that,  if  the  Gen.  was  speaking 
figuratively,  it  was  all  right,  but  if  he  attempted 
the  matter  practically  he  would  find  it  a  very 
difficult  matter."196 

Two  days  later,  in  the  evening,  the  candidates 


136  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

clashed  again  at  Bloomfield  and  in  the  audience 
there  was  a  young  man  twenty-six  years  of  age 
by  the  name  of  James  Baird  Weaver.  "Kirk- 
wood  drew  a  picture  of  a  slave  mother  with  a 
babe  in  her  arms  fleeing  from  bondage  with  her 
eye  on  the  North  Star.  In  close  pursuit  was 
her  cruel  master  with  his  bloodhounds  hard 
after  her,  just  as  she  crossed  the  Iowa  line  from 
Missouri.  Clenching  his  fists  and  advancing 
toward  Dodge  he  demanded  to  know  if  he  under 
such  circumstances  would  turn  that  fleeing 
mother  and  her  infant  back  to  her  pursuing 
master.  Before  the  breathless  multitude  Kirk- 
wood  shouted  at  the  top  of  his  voice  'Answer 
my  question ! '  Dodge  replied,  '  I  would  obey 
the  law.7  Kirkwood  retorted,  'So  help  me, 
God,  I  would  suffer  my  right  arm  to  be  torn 
from  its  socket  before  I  would  do  such  a  mon 
strous  thing'.  The  crowd  broke  into  a  frenzy 
that  resembled  the  sweep  of  a  cyclone  through 
a  forest.  Men  grew  pale  and  clenched  each 
other  in  frenzy.  The  whole  audience  .... 
were  carried  irresistibly  off  their  feet.  The 
moral  sense  of  the  multitude  had  been  reached 
and  it  was  vain  to  attempt  to  reverse  the  deep 
impression  which  had  been  made."197 

Albia  was  the  scene  of  conflict  on  August  3rd 
and  Chariton  on  the  following  day.  Again 
Democratic  journals  charged  Kirkwood  with 
vulgarity  and  with  misrepresenting  the  facts 


CANDIDATE  FOR  GOVERNOR          137 

concerning  the  expenses  of  State  government 
under  Eepublican  administration.  About  this 
time  he  was  also  assailed  in  the  press  with  the 
assertion  that  the  land  and  mills  at  Coralville 
had  been  secured  by  dishonest  means,  and  that 
he  had  brought  about  the  unauthorized  pur 
chase  of  the  Park  House  in  Iowa  City  to  be 
used  as  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum  —  charges 
which  were  easily  refuted  because  entirely 
false.198 

At  Chariton  the  speakers  stood  on  a  platform 
which  was  very  unsteady,  consisting  as  it  did 
simply  of  planks  elevated  by  means  of  wooden 
blocks.  When  Dodge  ceased  speaking  he  re 
quested  someone  in  the  audience  to  hold  the 
platform  and  keep  it  from  falling  as  he  stepped 
down.  "I  have  been  trying  to  convince  the 
General' ',  observed  Kirkwood,  "that  his  plat 
form  is  rather  shaky, —  that  he  cannot  stand  on 
it  very  well.'7  The  effect  was  described  as 
"irresistibly  ludicrous",  since  Dodge  gave  evi 
dence  of  not  appreciating  the  joke  of  his 
opponent.199 

Thus  the  candidates  proceeded  westward 
through  the  southern  part  of  the  State,200  trav 
eling  part  of  the  time,  no  doubt,  over  the  road 
marked  across  the  prairies  more  than  a  decade 
before  by  the  Mormons  in  their  great  hegira. 
The  debate  at  Glenwood  was  characterized  as 
"the  most  exciting  discussion  of  the  campaign " 


138  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

thus  far.  A  Republican  editor  was  informed 
that  Dodge  "allowed  his  temper  to  get  complete 
control  of  him.  He  doffed  his  coat,  offered  to 
fight  with  his  fists,  pistol,  knives  or  in  any  other 
way. —  While  he  was  making  these  demonstra 
tions  a  large  number  of  men  arose  in  the  crowd 
and  called  for  the  city  marshall."201 

Joint  debates  were  not  held  at  every  point 
along  the  way,  but  each  candidate  apparently 
had  his  own  appointments  which  he  met  without 
his  opponent.  At  various  places  in  western 
Iowa  the  Republican  candidate  was  accom 
panied  by  Grenville  M.  Dodge,  a  young  civil 
engineer  whose  advice  even  at  that  time  was 
sought  by  everyone  interested  in  the  proposed 
trans-continental  railroad.  In  this  region 
Kirkwood  and  Abraham  Lincoln  crossed  paths, 
although  the  two  men  did  not  meet.  In  August 
Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  at  Council  Bluffs  and  "he 
took  occasion  to  commend  the  advanced  stand 
taken  by  Kirkwood  in  his  campaign  for  gov 
ernor"-  -an  approval  which  no  doubt  benefited 
the  latter  who  "was  regarded  by  many  as  pretty 
strong  on  the  slavery  question."202 

Sioux  City  was  the  extreme  northwestern 
point  reached  in  the  itinerary.  "Abe"  White 
and  John  H.  Charles  "went  down  below  Ser 
geant's  Bluff  and  met  Kirkwood,  who  drove  in, 
and  brought  him  back  to  Sioux  City.  Dodge 
came  in  a  little  later  on  the  stage  from  Council 


CANDIDATE  FOR  GOVERNOR          139 

Bluffs."  "Kirkwood  was  a  farmer,  and  looked 
it",  wrote  one  of  the  men  who  thus  escorted  the 
candidate  to  the  frontier  town  on  the  Missouri. 
"He  wore  coarse  shoes  ....  and  flannel 
shirt.  But  though  he  was  simple  and  plain  he 
was  also  honest  and  straightforward,  and  so 
impressed  people.  He  took  well  here."203 

The  campaign  now  shifted  once  more  to  east 
ern  Iowa;  and  thus  it  happened  that  a  joint 
debate  was  scheduled  to  occur  at  the  little  city 
of  Washington  on  September  2nd.  The  two 
candidates  were  expected  to  arrive  in  separate 
conveyances  over  the  road  from  Sigourney, 
where  they  had  spoken  on  the  previous  evening. 
Now  among  the  leading  Democrats  in  that 
vicinity  was  one  John  H.  Bacon,  a  breeder  of 
fine  horses,  who,  with  his  friends  conceived  the 
idea  of  meeting  their  hero  in  a  manner  befitting 
his  importance.  Four  of  Mr.  Bacon's  white 
horses  wrere  selected,  "scoured"  clean,  and 
hitched  to  the  finest  carriage  the  town  afforded. 
The  Republicans  were  at  first  somewhat  dis 
concerted  when  the  news  of  these  elegant  prep 
arations  reached  their  ears.  But  a  farmer  by 
the  name  of  Jonathan  Wilson  was  equal  to  the 
occasion.  He  owned  a  yoke  of  oxen,  well 
trained  and  trustworthy,  which  he  now  hitched 
to  a  lumber  wagon  bearing  a  hayrack.  The 
Democratic  equipage  had  already  been  driven 
out  some  distance  on  the  Sigourney  road  and 


140  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

stationed  by  the  wayside  to  await  its  distin 
guished  occupant.  Wilson,  with  two  or  three 
other  men,  soon  set  out  in  the  same  direction, 
pretending  to  be  going  for  a  load  of  hay. 

Kirkwood  was  the  first  to  approach  and  as 
the  carriage  was  spied,  one  of  his  companions 
remarked,  "Well,  I  guess  they  have  come  out  to 
meet  you  in  fine  style."  But  the  attendants  of 
the  four-horse  team  gave  no  sign  and  so  the 
Kirkwood  party  drove  on  down  the  road.  Soon 
they  were  hailed  by  an  occupant  of  the  hay 
rack  which  was  likewise  drawn  up  by  the  road 
side.  "Be  you  Sam  Kirkwood?"  inquired  the 
spokesman.  Upon  giving  an  affirmative  answer 
Kirkwood  was  asked  to  take  a  seat  in  the  hay 
rack.  Thereupon  the  driver  put  "the  butt 
without  mercy  to  the  oxen,  and  at  a  break-neck 
speed  up  hill  and  down  they  rode  into  town." 

The  result  was  all  that  could  be  desired.  A 
band  met  the  party  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town, 
and  boys  and  men  of  all  political  parties  joined 
in  the  procession  as  it  proceeded  through  the 
streets,  while  cheer  after  cheer  went  up  for  the 
farmer  candidate  who  looked  and  felt  perfectly 
in  place  on  his  rustic  vehicle.  Shortly  after 
ward  Dodge,  in  the  shining  carriage  drawn  by 
the  dashing  white  horses,  came  riding  into  town 
and  made  a  turn  or  two  about  the  public  square. 
The  effect  was  indeed  striking,  but  the  crowd 
had  yelled  itself  hoarse  on  Kirkwood 's  arrival 


CANDIDATE  FOR  GOVERNOR          141 

and  had  little  breath  left  with  which  to  cheer 
his  opponent. 

Before  the  speaking  began  two  men  in  the 
crowd  engaged  in  "the  interesting  occupation 
of  bruising  each  other's  faces";  and  later  dur 
ing  the  discussion  one  of  the  participants,  in  his 
drunkenness  "propounded  sundry  oblivious 
questions"  to  Kirkwood.  Tiring  of  these  inter 
ruptions  the  speaker  finally  cut  him  short  by 
remarking  that  "he  was  moved  by  the  spirit  of 
democracy."204 

The  editor  of  a  local  paper,  in  describing  the 
debate  at  Washington,  had  sufficient  independ 
ence  to  state  that  "both  men  bore  themselves 
with  gentlemanly  courtesy"  and  to  designate  as 
"mere  fulminations  of  party  editors,  and  the 
buncomb  of  political  wire  pullers"  all  the 
stories  about  "immense  swaggering,  towering 
passions  and  grandiloquent  bombast  on  the  one 
hand,  and  dirty  blackguardism,  stupendous 
lying  and  consummate  demagoguism  on  the 
other".205 

For  at  least  two  weeks  the  contest  was  con 
tinued,  during  which  time  the  people  of  Iowa 
City,  Newton,  Tipton,  Anamosa,  Maquoketa, 
Dubuque,  Davenport,  Muscatine,  Wapello,  Fair- 
field,  and  other  towns  heard  Kirkwood  and 
Dodge  debate  the  political  issues  of  the  day.206 
At  every  opportunity  Kirkwood  was  glad  to 
converse  with  the  citizens  of  the  communities 


142  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

which  he  visited.  It  is  said  that  he  "would  sit 
about  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  smoking  a  cob-pipe 
and  discussing  the  raising  of  steers  with  the 
grangers,  which  is  possible,  and  perhaps  true ; 
but  at  the  same  time  it  is  stated  by  those  who 
listened  to  the  debates  that  he  proved  himself 
superior  in  logic,  force,  and  effectiveness  to  his 
courtly  opponent."207 

During  the  last  three  weeks  before  the  elec 
tion  Kirkwood  made  a  final,  flying  trip  on  his 
own  account.  Beginning  at  Fort  Madison  on 
September  20th,  he  proceeded  by  boat  up  the 
river.  He  was  scheduled  to  speak  at  Burling 
ton,  McGregor,  and  other  points  in  eastern 
Iowa  until  he  reached  Lansing.  From  thence  he 
was  to  turn  west  and  swing  around  the  circle, 
visiting  Waukon,  Decorah,  Independence,  Wa 
terloo,  Vinton,  Cedar  Rapids,  Marengo,  Toledo, 
Marshalltown,  and  intermediate  towns,  closing 
his  campaign  at  Eldora  on  October  8th.  When 
ever  possible  he  spoke  twice  a  day,  at  different 
places  —  first  at  one  o  'clock  and  again  at  seven 
—  and  the  political  speeches  of  that  day  seldom, 
if  ever,  occupied  less  than  two  hours.  A  vigor 
ous  constitution  was  a  prime  requisite  in  a 
campaign  such  as  this,  especially  when  most  of 
the  traveling  must  be  done  in  a  stage-coach  or 
open  buggy  in  all  sorts  of  weather.-"* 

There  was  one  interruption  in  this  strenuous 
program.      Mrs.    Kirkwood,    who    was    always 


CANDIDATE  FOR  GOVERNOR          143 

keenly  interested  in  whatever  her  husband  was 
doing  and  whose  company  he  greatly  desired  at 
all  possible  times,  started  out  with  him  on  this 
tour.  But  before  going  far  she  was  taken  ill 
and  they  both  returned  to  Iowa  City,  where 
after  a  few  days  Mr.  Kirkwood  was  forced  to 
leave  her,  convalescent,  and  return  to  his 
appointments.209 

The  long  campaign  at  last  came  to  a  close, 
and  on  October  11,  1859,  the  people  of  Iowa 
were  called  upon  to  choose  the  man  who  should 
be  their  next  Governor.  No  voting-machines 
automatically  counted  the  votes  in  those  days, 
and  no  telegraph  flashed  the  election  returns 
from  every  little  hamlet  and  voting  precinct; 
and  so  it  was  many  days  and  even  weeks  before 
the  exact  result  was  known.  Then  it  was  found 
that  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  was  elected  Governor 
of  Iowa  by  a  majority  of  3170  votes  over 
Augustus  Caesar  Dodge.210 


XIII 

FIRST  INAUGURAL, 

"You  have  got  a  difficult  task  before  you  for 
two  years  to  navigate  the  ship  of  State  without 
a  cent  of  money",  were  the  discouraging  words 
written  to  Kirkwood  by  James  W.  Grimes 
shortly  after  the  election  results  became  known. 
"There  is  now  due  to  the  State  from  the  sev 
eral  Counties  between  three  and  four  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  and  no  taxes  will  be  paid  this 
year,  for  there  is  no  money  in  the  country  to 
pay  with.  The  government  has  got  to  be  car 
ried  on  principally  upon  credit.  You  must  put 
on  your  thinking  cap  and  begin  to  devise  the 
ways  and  means  of  doing  it.  We  must  abolish 
our  present  County  system  &  give  the  people  a 
chance  to  govern  themselves  a  little  more  than 
they  do  under  the  county  judge  system.  .  .  . 
Send  the  county  judges  to  purgatory."211 

Xo  doubt  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  followed  the 
advice  of  his  friend  and  wore  his  "thinking 
cap"  much  of  the  time  between  his  election  and 
his  inauguration  as  Governor  of  Iowa,  for  he 
regarded  public  office  as  a  trust  to  be  taken 
seriously.  There  is  also  evidence  that  during 

144 


FIRST  INAUGURAL  145 

these  months  his  thoughts  turned  frequently 
from  the  tasks  set  before  him  as  Chief  Execu 
tive  to  the  great  national  problem  of  slavery. 
He  was  among  those  who  believed  in  the  plan  of 
colonizing  the  free  negroes  in  some  part  of 
South  or  Central  America;  and  he  wrote  to 
Frank  P.  Blair  expressing  his  views  on  that 
subject.  Blair  was  enthusiastic  in  his  response. 
"If  Iowa  shall  take  the  first  step  in  this  great 
scheme, ' '  he  said,  ' i  she  will  be  justly  entitled  to 
[the]  title  of  the  leader  of  the  hosts  of  freedom 
-  and  of  carrying  into  practice  the  long  cher 
ished  plans  of  Mr.  Jeff er son.  "212  A  week  later 
James  E.  Doolittle  wrote  from  Racine,  Wis 
consin,  urging  Kirkwood  to  take  a  decisive 
stand  in  favor  of  the  "great  Jeffersonian  plan" 
in  his  inaugural  address  to  the  legislature.213 

Less  patriotic  and  unselfish,  but  typical  of  the 
political  spoilsman,  was  a  letter  received  by 
Kirkwood  late  in  November  from  William  H. 
Bigelow  who  wanted  assistance  to  launch  a 
Republican  newspaper  at  Sioux  City.  "Please 
allow  us  to  draw  on  you  for  $25  &  give  you  no 
further  trouble",  was  his  modest  request.214 

The  first  week  in  January,  1860,  found  Kirk 
wood  in  Des  Moines,  ready  to  perform  the 
duties  incumbent  upon  him  during  the  session 
of  the  Eighth  General  Assembly  which  con 
vened  on  the  ninth  day  of  the  month.  Two  days 
later  the  two  houses  of  the  legislature  met  in 

11 


U()  SAMUEL  J.  KTRKWOOD 

joint  convention  and,  after  canvassing  the  votes 
for  Governor  and  Lieutenant  Governor  and  dis 
posing-  of  the  necessary  preliminaries,  declared 
themselves  in  readiness  for  the  inauguration. 
Thereupon  "Senator  Anderson  was  called  to 
the  Chair,  after  which  His  Excellency  the  Gov 
ernor  and  Lieut.  Governor,  together  with  the 
Governor  and  Lieut.  Governor  elect,  accom 
panied  by  the  Chief  and  Associate  Judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court  and  their  successors  in 
office,  and  the  other  officers  of  State,  entered  the 
Hall  and  were  seated."  The  oath  of  office  was 
then  administered  by  Chief  Justice  George  G. 
Wright  and  Governor  Kirkwood  delivered  his 
inaugural  address.215 

Without  wasting  time  either  in  paying  com 
pliments  or  making  promises,  he  first  suggested 
that  the  General  Assembly,  under  the  Consti 
tution  of  the  State,  should  interfere  as  little  as 
possible  with  the  State  Board  of  Education  in 
its  administration  of  the  public  school  system. 
Turning  to  the  subject  of  elections,  he  declared 
that  "in  a  government  like  ours,  without  privi 
leged  classes,  and  where  the  laws  affect  all 
alike,  we  need  not  fear  that  a  majority  of  our 
people  will  deliberately  pursue  a  policy  in 
tended  to  operate  injuriously  upon  the  public 
welfare,  because  by  so  doing  they  would  be  act 
ing  contrary  to  their  own  best  interests.  .  .  . 
But  if  through  fraud  or  violence,  the  ballot  box 


FIRST  INAUGURAL  147 

shall  cease  to  report  to  us  correctly  and  hon 
estly  the  will  of  the  majority;  if  corrupt  and 
interested  men  are  enabled  to  substitute  their 
will  for  that  of  the  people,  then  the  assurance 
of  safety  derived  to  us  from  the  honesty,  the 
intelligence,  and  the  interest  of  the  people,  no 
longer  exists.  .  .  .  We  can  not,  therefore, 
guard  with  too  much  care,  the  sanctity  and 
purity  of  the  ballot  box.  In  my  opinion,  there 
is  no  measure  so  well  calculated  to  effect  this 
object,  as  a  carefully  prepared  and  well  guarded 
registry  law;  and  I  respectfully  recommend 
that  measure  to  your  consideration. " 

The  institutions  for  the  care  of  the  insane 
and  the  mute  and  the  blind,  the  penitentiary,  the 
State  University,  and  the  newly  created  Agri 
cultural  College  were  all  commended  to  the 
favorable  consideration  of  the  legislature.  The 
Governor  advised  changes  in  the  method  of 
managing  the  permanent  school  fund  of  the 
State,  and  suggested  a  revision  of  the  revenue 
laws.  At  the  same  time  he  warned  the  legis 
lators  to  practice  "as  close  and  rigid  an  econ 
omy  in  the  matter  of  appropriations  as  is 
consistent  with  a  proper  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  State.  The  scarcity  of  money, 
consequent  upon  the  financial  revulsion  of  1857, 
and  the  failure  of  our  crops,  to  a  great  extent 
since  that  time,  has  caused  the  payment  of  the 
taxes  necessary  to  the  support  of  our  govern- 


148  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

ment,  to  be  felt  as  a  sensible  burden  by  our 
people". 

Having  briefly  summarized  the  most  pressing 
demands  for  action  on  the  part  of  the  General 
Assembly,  the  new  Governor  of  Iowa  could  not 
refrain  from  discussing  the  event  which  had 
stirred  the  Nation  to  its  depths — "the  late  un 
lawful  invasion"  of  Virginia  by  John  Brown 
and  his  associates.  He  found  in  "that  mad 
attempt"  the  logical  fruitage  of  the  policy  pur 
sued  by  the  pro-slavery  propagandists.  In  1820 
and  again  in  1850  a  settlement  had  been  made, 
and  "our  people  fondly  hoped  that  for  a  long 
period  of  time,  this  vexed  and  irritating  ques 
tion  would  be  kept  out  of  our  national  councils, 
and  that  the  angry  and  embittered  feelings 
always  arising  from  its  discussion,  would  then 
die  out  for  want  of  food."  But  this  hope  had 
been  rudely  dashed  to  the  ground  by  the  pas 
sage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill.  There  had 
ensued  a  reign  of  bloodshed  in  Kansas,  accom 
panied  by  filibustering  expeditions  in  Cuba  and 
Nicaragua  —  the  latter  with  the  consent  and 
even  the  encouragement  of  a  large  number  of 
our  people. 

"Is  it  strange",  asked  Governor  Kirkwood, 
"that  the  bare  promulgation  of  these  doctrines, 
acting  upon  the  minds  of  men  maddened  by  the 
recollection  of  wrongs  inflicted  upon  them  in 
Kansas  because  of  their  love  of  freedom,  should 


FIRST  INAUGURAL  149 

lead  them  to  the  conclusion  that  they  should  do 
and  dare  as  much  at  home  for  liberty,  as  those 
who  have  oppressed  them  are  doing  abroad  for 
slavery?  It  seems  to  me  most  natural,  and 
while  I  deeply  deplore  and  most  unqualifiedly 
condemn,  I  cannot  wonder  at  the  recent  unfor 
tunate  and  bloody  occurrence  at  Harper 's 
Ferry.  But  while  we  may  not  wonder  at,  we 
must  condemn  it.  It  was  an  act  of  war  —  of 
war  against  brethren,  and  in  that  a  greater 
crime  than  the  invaders  of  Cuba  and  Nicaragua 
w^ere  guilty  of;  relieved  to  some  extent  of  its 
guilt,  in  the  minds  of  many,  by  the  fact  that  the 
blow  was  struck  for  freedom,  and  not  for 
slavery. ' ' 

At  the  same  time  the  people  of  the  South 
made  a  great  mistake  when  they  asserted  that 
the  people  of  the  North  approved  the  assault  on 
Harper 's  Ferry.  "  While  the  great  mass  of  our 
northern  people  utterly  condemn  the  act  of 
John  Brown,  they  feel  and  they  express  admi 
ration  and  sympathy  for  the  disinterestedness 
of  purpose  by  which  they  believe  he  was  gov 
erned,  and  for  the  unflinching  courage  and  calm 
cheerfulness  with  which  he  met  the  conse 
quences  of  his  failure.  Many,  very  many,  of 
our  northern  people,  felt  deep  sympathy  for  the 
gallant  Crittenden,  who  died  so  bravely  in  Cuba, 
for  an  act  they  strongly  condemned;  and  the 
tears  of  many  of  the  best  and  bravest  of  our 


150  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

revolutionary  sires  bedewed  the  grave  of 
Andre,  who,  by  their  own  judgment,  died  the 
death  of  a  spy,  his  sentence  approved  by  Wash 
ington.  ' ' 

Then,  as  if  to  justify  his  wandering  beyond 
the  field  of  State  policies,  Governor  Kirkwood 
remarked:  "I  cannot  concur  in  the  opinion  ex 
pressed  by  some  persons,  that  the  constituted 
authorities  of  the  States  of  this  Union  have  dis 
charged  their  entire  duty,  when  they  have 
looked  to  and  cared  for  their  own  internal 
affairs,  and  that  they  travel  out  of  their  legiti 
mate  sphere  when  they  in  any  manner  concern 
themselves  with  the  affairs  of  our  General 
Government.  The  several  States,  as  such,  are 
the  constituents  of  one  branch  of  the  National 
Congress,  and  if  it  be  true  that  the  constituent 
may  and  should  concern  himself  with  what  is 
done  by  his  representative,  it  must  be  true  that 
each  State  may  and  should  concern  herself  with 
the  actions  of  that  General  Government  of 
\vhich  her  representatives  are  a  part".  In  line 
with  this  view  the  Governor  proceeded  to  rec 
ommend  that  the  legislature  memorialize  Con 
gress  in  favor  of  the  Homestead  Bill,  the 
Pacific  Railroad  Bill,  and  the  plan  for  col 
onizing  the  free  negroes  in  South  or  Central 
America. 

In  spite  of  all  the  dangers  which  threatened 
the  Nation,  ho\vever,  Governor  Kirkwood  still 


FIRST  INAUGURAL  151 

retained  his  optimism  and  his  hope  for  a  peace 
ful  settlement.  "In  conclusion, "  he  declared, 
"permit  me  to  say  that,  although  our  political 
horizon  is  not  unclouded,  although  anger  and 
jealousy  have  to  some  extent  taken  the  place  of 
brotherly  kindness  and  good  will  among  our 
people,  .  .  .  still,  in  my  opinion,  those  who 
love  our  Constitution  and  our  Union,  have  not 
very  great  cause  for  alarm.  Passion  will  sub 
side,  reason  will  resume  its  sway,  and  then  our 
southern  brethren  will  discover  that  they  have 
been  deceived  and  misled,  as  to  our  feelings  and 
purposes ;  .  .  .  and  that  the  good  old  ways 
wherein  we  walked,  when  to  talk  of  disunion 
openly,  or  to  approve  it  silently,  was  to  incur 
the  scorn  due  a  traitor,  are  ways  of  pleasant 
ness,  and  that  the  good  old  paths  our  fathers 
taught  us  to  tread,  are  paths  of  peace.  And 
they  ....  will  again  pledge  themselves 
as  we  to-day  pledge  ourselves  in  the  full  depth 
and  force  of  its  meaning  to  the  sentiment  of  the 
true  and  stern  old  patriot  of  the  Hermitage  — 
i  The  Union  —  it  must  and  shall  be  pre 
served/  "216 

Governor  Kirkwood's  inaugural  address  was 
received  with  approval,  though  without  great 
enthusiasm,  by  the  Republicans  of  the  State. 
The  editor  of  The  Iowa  Citizen  considered  it 
"a  fair  exposition  of  the  sentiments  he  has  pro 
claimed  in  every  portion  of  the  State,  and  a 


152  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

truthful  exhibit  of  the  views  of  the  party  to 
which  he  belongs ;  so  far  as  it  has  a  party  char 
acter.  "  * '  His  remarks  on  the  John  Brown  mat 
ter  are  satisfactory",  wrote  a  correspondent  to 
the  New  York  Tribune,  "and  are  all  that  could 
be  expected  from  a  Marylander  by  birth;  a 
Democrat  by  association  up  to  1854,  and  a  suc 
cessful  canvasser  before  the  people.  .  .  . 
His  sentiments,  I  think,  are  reflective  of  the 
tone  of  feeling  in  the  northwest  in  the  Repub 
lican  party."217 

The  Democrats  were  not  so  calm  in  express 
ing  their  disapproval  of  the  address.  It  was  de 
nounced  in  long  editorials  in  the  newspapers ; 
vigorous  speeches  were  made  in  the  General 
Assembly  against  the  resolution  to  print  the 
address;  and  twenty  Senators  and  thirty-four 
Representatives  signed  their  names  to  solemn 
protests  which  were  spread  upon  the  journals 
of  the  two  houses  of  the  legislature.  These 
protests,  which  were  identical  in  content,  op 
posed  the  printing  of  the  Governor's  address 
on  six  grounds  —  the  central  theme  of  which 
was  that  the  chief  executive  had  gone  out  of  his 
way  to  discuss  partisan  doctrines  which  had  no 
relation  to  the  duties  of  the  legislature.  Be 
sides,  it  was  the  belief  of  those  who  signed  the 
remonstrances  that  "the  dissemination  of  the 
sentiments  contained  in  said  message,  tends  to 
kindle  anew  that  blind  fanaticism,  North  and 


FIRST  INAUGURAL  153 

South,  which  has  already  shaken  the  founda 
tions  of  the  Union,  and  threatens  to  blast  the 
brightest  hopes  of  every  true  friend  of  Amer 
ican  Liberty.  "218 

It  was  characteristic  of  Kirkwood  that  in  the 
midst  of  official  duties  and  partisan  contro 
versies  he  did  not  lose  his  keen  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  his  friends  and  the  members  of  his 
own  family.  On  January  29th  he  took  the  time 
to  write  a  long,  fatherly  letter  to  his  nephew, 
Samuel  Kirkwood  Clark,  who  had  lived  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kirkwood  most  of  the  time  since 
his  infancy  and  was  regarded  by  them  with  all 
the  affection  they  would  have  bestowed  upon  a 
son.  "When  your  father  was  here",  wrote  the 
Governor,  "he  related  to  me  a  conversation  he 
had  had  with  your  teacher  which  gave  me  great 
pleasure."  The  teacher  had  praised  young 
Clark  for  his  gentlemanly  deportment  and  his 
diligence  as  a  student,  and  had  described  him 
as  being  a  leader  among  his  fellows.  After 
expressing  his  gratification  at  such  a  good 
report,  Governor  Kirkwood  sounded  a  note  of 
warning.  "You  must  not  allow  yourself  to 
become  proud  and  overbearing.  You  must  not 
use  your  position  to  put  down  any  one  who  is 
weaker  than  yourself,  either  mentally  or  physi 
cally,  but  rather  to  support  and  defend  such  - 
in  short,  you  must  use  your  influence  to  see  that 
'the  right7  is  done  at  all  times  and  under  all 


154  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

circumstances,  and  you  must  not  allow  any 
thing  to  make  you  flinch  from  seeing  it  done. 
You  must  not  be  quarrelsome.  Avoid  all  per 
sonal  difficulties,  if  possible,  but  if  compelled  to 
engage  in  such,  then  so  bear  yourself  that  your 
adversary  will  not  wish  to  come  in  contact  with 
you  again." 

On  the  subject  of  smoking  he  was  not  dis 
posed  to  scold  his  nephew,  but  he  advised  him 
to  make  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  effects 
of  the  habit  and  then  determine  his  course 
accordingly.  "I  send  you  a  copy  of  my  in 
augural  address",  he  said  in  conclusion.  "It  is 
praised  by  some  of  my  party  friends  and 
denounced  by  some  of  my  party  enemies.  You 
are  neither  one  or  the  other.  Write  me  just 
what  you  think  about  it.  Write  me  what  you 
think  about  all  these  things.  Take  your  time  to 
do  so,  half  a  dozen  evenings  if  necessary,  and  a 
half  a  dozen  sheets  of  paper,  if  necessary.  I 
will  read  it  all.  You  are  at  entire  liberty  to 
show  this  to  your  father,  if  you  want  to  talk 
about  it  with  him,  and  I  think  it  would  be  well 
for  you  to  do  so.  He  may  help  you  to  read  it; 
perhaps  his  help  may  be  necessary."219 


XIV 

GOVERNOR  DURING  A  YEAR  OF  PEACE 

THE  inaugural  address  and  the  sentiments 
therein  set  forth  were  soon  forgotten,220  for 
within  two  weeks  there  was  furnished  a  more 
tangible  opportunity  for  partisan  controversy. 
On  the  morning  of  January  23rd  there  appeared 
at  the  Governor's  office  in  Des  Moines  a  man  by 
the  name  of  C.  Camp,  "bearing  requisition 
papers  directed  to  the  Governor  of  Iowa  for 
one  Barclay  Coppoc,  reputed  to  be  a  fugitive 
from  the  justice  of  Virginia."221 

The  events  which  led  up  to  this  request  make 
a  long  story.  When  on  his  journeys  to  and 
from  Kansas,  John  Brown  had  several  times 
passed  through  Iowa  and  had  made  many 
friends  and  acquaintances,  especially  in  the 
quiet  Quaker  village  of  Springdale  in  Cedar 
County.  In  this  peaceful  community  the  little 
band  of  oddly  assorted  characters  who  made  up 
Brown's  band  spent  the  winter  of  1857-1858, 
and  here  their  leader  matured  his  plam,  for  a 
last  attack  upon  the  hated  institution  of  slavery. 
To  none  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  did  the 
warlike  demeanor  and  aims  of  the  men  appeal 

155 


156  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

more  strongly  than  to  two  boys  by  the  names  of 
Edwin  and  Barclay  Coppoc.  They  apparently 
offered  their  services  to  Brown,  for  when  the 
summons  came  in  July,  1859,  they  were  quick  to 
respond,  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  their  mother 
and  their  friends.  Edwin  Coppoc  was  captured 
in  the  ill-fated  raid  on  Harper's  Ferry  and  was 
later  hung  by  Virginia  authorities.  His 
brother,  Barclay,  who  had  remained  across  the 
river  in  Maryland  to  help  guard  the  base  of 
supplies,  escaped  and,  after  a  desperate  flight 
through  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania  and 
across  the  Mississippi  Valley,  came  at  last  to 
his  home  in  Springdale.  It  was  the  demand  of 
the  Governor  of  Virginia  for  the  return  of 
Barclay  Coppoc  that  now  confronted  Governor 
Kirk  wood. 

He  received  the  Virginia  emissary  courte 
ously,  but  requested  that  the  papers  be  left  with 
him  until  after  dinner  in  order  that  he  might 
have  time  to  examine  them  carefully  and  make 
an  intelligent  reply.  When  Mr.  Camp  returned 
at  the  appointed  time  in  the  afternoon  he  "was 
met  with  a  refusal  to  honor  the  requisition.  .  . 
.  .  The  agent,  considerably  surprised  and  no 
doubt  much  nettled,  undertook  by  dint  of  argu 
ment  to  convince  the  Governor  that  he  was 
wrong,  unjust,  and  incidentally  guilty  of  per 
verting  the  letter  of  the  Federal  Constitution 
and  the  statutes  of  Congress."  So  excited  and 


FIRST  YEAR  AS  GOVERNOR          157 

indiscreet  did  the  Virginian  become  that  certain 
members  of  the  legislature,  who  chanced  to 
enter  the  Governor's  office  during  the  course  of 
the  discussion,  readily  discovered  his  mission. 
Within  two  hours  a  man  on  horseback  was 
making  all  speed  eastward  toward  Springdale, 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  away,  to  warn 
Barclay  Coppoc  of  his  danger. 

The  reasons  for  Governor  Kirkwood's  re 
fusal  to  honor  the  requisition  were  no  doubt 
fully  explained  to  Mr.  Camp,  as  they  were  also 
set  forth  in  two  letters  written  immediately  to 
Governor  Letcher  of  Virginia.  A  few  days 
later  these  reasons  were  summarized  as  follows 
in  a  communication  to  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  of  Iowa : 

1st  —  The  affidavit  presented,  was  not  made  before 
1  i  a  magistrate, ' '  but  before  a  Notary  Public. 

2d  —  Even  had  the  law  recognized  an  affidavit  made 
before  a  Notary  Public,  the  affidavit  in  this  case  was 
not  authenticated  by  the  Notary's  seal. 

3d  —  The  affidavit  does  not  show,  unless  it  be 
inferentially,  that  Coppoc  was  in  the  State  of  Vir 
ginia  at  the  time  he  "  aided  and  abetted  John  Brown 
and  others,"  as  stated  therein. 

4th  —  It  did  not  legally  "charge  him"  with  com 
mission  of  "treason,  felony  or  other  crime." 

A  careful  review  of  the  constitutional  and 
legal  aspects  of  the  case,  in  the  light  of  numer 
ous  court  decisions,  reveals  the  fact  that 


158  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  was  justified  in  his  refusal 
to  honor  the  demand  for  the  return  of  Barclay 
Coppoc  for  all  the  reasons  which  he  cited,  ex 
cept  the  first.  "With  only  one  ground  for 
refusal  ill-founded  —  while  the  remaining  three 
are  sustained  as  points  well  taken  —  we  may 
note  a  clarity  of  legal  perception  united  with  a 
strength  of  conviction  which  did  not  permit  the 
inflamed  sectionalism  of  the  South  nor  the  rabid 
partisanship  of  the  North  to  dictate  his  course 
of  action. ' ' 

It  could  not  be  expected,  however,  that  the 
people  of  Iowa  or  of  Virginia  in  1860  would  be 
able  to  pass  a  calm,  impartial  judgment  upon 
an  action  which  touched  so  closely  the  great 
issue  of  partisan  and  sectional  strife.  Iowa 
newspapers  found  in  the  incident  the  materials 
necessary  for  a  first-rate  editorial  controversy. 
The  Virginia  point  of  view  was  fully  enunciated 
by  Governor  John  Letcher  in  a  communication 
to  the  Senate  and  House  of  Delegates  of  that 
Commonwealth.  He  characterized  the  reasons 
assigned  by  Governor  Kirkwood  for  his  refusal 
to  honor  the  requisition  as  "exceedingly  frivol 
ous  ' '.  "  The  course  of  the  governor  in  this  mat 
ter,"  he  said,  "considered  in  connection  with 
the  views  presented  in  his  inaugural  message  in 
relation  to  the  occurrences  and  actors  in  the 
Harpers  Ferry  outrage,  force  upon  my  mind 
the  conclusion  that  his  action  was  taken,  if  not 


FIRST  YEAR  AS  GOVERNOR          159 

with  the  intention  of  permitting  Coppoc  to 
escape,  and  thus  shield  [ing]  him  from  just 
punishment,  for  crimes  of  the  most  serious  and 
aggravated  character,  .  .  .  yet  with  a  cer 
tainty  that  it  must  have  that  effect. "  He  also 
took  occasion  to  declare  that  the  "  denial  of  this 
requisition,  and  numerous  other  evidences  of 
unfriendly  feeling  which  are  being  exhibited 
daily  by  a  large  portion  of  the  northern  people, 
and  their  representative  men,  towards  the  south 
and  the  institution  of  domestic  slavery,  ought 
to  impress  upon  us  the  necessity  of  adopting 
prompt,  energetic  and  decided  measures  to  pro 
tect  our  rights,  secure  direct  trade,  establish 
manufactures,  and  thus  achieve  southern  inde 
pendence.  " 

Nevertheless,  corrected  requisition  papers 
were  in  due  time  forwarded  to  Governor  Kirk- 
wood.  But  again  the  "  justice  of  Virginia  "  was 
cheated  of  its  victim,  this  time  by  the  flight  of 
Barclay  Coppoc  from  his  home  at  Springdale. 

Ordinarily  this  would  have  closed  the  affair 
as  far  as  the  Governor  of  Iowa  was  concerned, 
but  the  members  of  the  opposition  party  had 
not  exhausted  the  opportunities  for  the  manu 
facture  of  political  capital  which  the  episode 
seemed  to  present.  And  so  the  controversy  was 
transferred  from  the  press  to  the  General  As 
sembly.  On  February  27,  1860,  Senator  James 
F.  Wilson  introduced  a  resolution,  altogether 


160  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

friendly  in  purpose,  calling  upon  Governor 
Kirkwood  for  information  relative  to  the 
Coppoc  case.  Little  interest  was  manifested  in 
this  resolution  until  it  was  discovered  that  sev 
eral  Republican  members  of  the  Senate  were 
absent  from  their  seats.  Senator  Neal  then 
suddenly  introduced  an  amendment  which  spe 
cifically  requested  the  Governor  "to  inform  the 
Senate  by  what  means  Coppoc  obtained  the 
information  that  there  Avas  a  requisition  from 
the  Governor  of  Virginia  upon  the  Governor  of 
Iowa,  for  his  surrender;  and  if  the  fact  of  said 
requisition  being  made,  was  communicated  to 
any  person,  or  made  public,  before  the  answer 
was  given  by  the  Governor  of  Iowa,  to  the  Gov 
ernor  of  Virginia."  The  Democrats  had  con 
trol  of  the  Senate  for  the  time  being  and  they 
were  able  to  rush  this  accusatory  amendment  to 
its  final  passage  in  spite  of  the  angry  protests 
of  the  Republican  Senators. 

Governor  Kirkwood  was  equal  to  the  occa 
sion.  On  the  following  day  he  sent  a  carefully 
worded  reply  to  the  Senate.  "I  readily  admit 
the  propriety  of  giving  to  the  public  full  infor 
mation  on  this  subject,"  he  said,  "and  shall 
promptly  communicate  all  facts  within  my 
knowledge,  in  any  way  connected  therewith, 
whenever  I  can  do  so  consistently  with  my  self- 
respect,  and  with  the  respect  and  consideration 
which,  in  my  judgment,  are  due  to  the  depart- 


FIRST  YEAR  AS  GOVERNOR  161 

ment  of  our  government  which,  for  the  time 
being,  I  have  the  honor  to  represent.  I  cannot, 
however,  do  so  in  response  to  a  resolution  which 
assumes  that,  in  this  matter,  I  have  done  acts 
which  the  common  judgment  of  your  body 
would  pronounce  to  be  improper  in  any  person 
holding  my  official  position. " 

Such  an  assumption  the  Governor  declared  to 
be  "utterly  unfounded'7  and  one  which  he  could 
neither  *  *  respond  to  or  deny,  without  admitting, 
by  implication,  that  the  suggestion  thereof  was 
authorized  by  the  facts  of  the  case."  There 
fore,  since  he  was  convinced  that  the  resolution 
of  inquiry  "took  its  present  objectionable  form 
through  oversight  and  inadvertence",  he  re 
turned  "said  resolution"  to  the  Senate  in  order 
that  that  body  might  "have  the  opportunity  of 
giving  it  further  consideration." 

This  communication  threw  the  burden  of 
proof  back  upon  the  Democratic  members  of 
the  Senate,  who  were  not  slow  to  realize  their 
mistake.  They  would  have  been  glad  to  pass  a 
resolution  of  apology,  but  their  Republican  col 
leagues  took  delight  in  thwarting  their  efforts 
along  this  line.  While  all  this  was  going  on  in 
the  Senate,  the  members  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  likewise  became  interested,  and  after 
some  debate  a  very  respectful  resolution  was 
adopted  asking  the  Governor  to  submit  full 
information  relative  to  the  Coppoc  case.  To 

12 


162  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

this  request  the  Governor  responded  with  a 
lengthy  communication  giving  a  detailed  ac 
count  of  the  whole  transaction,  accompanied  by 
copies  of  all  the  correspondence  bearing  on  the 
case.  Discussion  now  ceased  and  the  episode 
was  soon  forgotten. 

Meanwhile,  Governor  Kirkwood  did  not  neg 
lect  the  social  duties  of  his  position;2-2  nor  did 
he  lose  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  mill  and 
farm  near  Iowa  City.  Mrs.  Kirkwood  and  two 
of  her  nieces  were  with  him  in  Des  Moines.  "I 
see  that  you  atine  [attend]  many  partys,  one 
most  every  night",  wrote  Valentine  Miller,  the 
faithful  manager  of  the  Coralville  mill.  "Mr. 
Kirkwood  you  Mrs.  Kirkwood  and  the  girls 
must  try  to  learne  to  dance,  so  that  we  can  have 
a  good  one  when  you  come  home.  I  will  see  for 
to  have  a  good  musiche."  He  then  proceeded 
to  give  the  Governor  an  account  of  conditions 
at  the  mill  and  to  advise  that  the  wall  along  the 
flume  be  rebuilt.22-'5 

A  few  weeks  later  Ezekiel  Clark  wrote  to  his 
brother-in-law  saying  that  the  mill  was  running 
and  "earning  some  money",  and  declaring  his 
"dislike  to  arange  to  have  any  person  come  on 
the  farm  for  fear  they  will  not  be  just  such  as 
you  would  approve."  "I  start  tomorrow  to 
Chicago  with  Cattle",  he  continued,  "and  am 
fearful  we  will  meet  a  hard  market  but  I  am 
satisfied  we  will  make  money  on  our  Cattle  we 
are  feeding."224 


FIRST  YEAR  AS  GOVERNOR  163 

During  March  and  April,  1860,  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood  transmitted  to  the  proper  branches 
of  the  legislature  four  out  of  the  six  veto  mes 
sages  of  his  career  as  Governor  of  Iowa.  In 
each  instance  he  stated  the  reasons  for  his  dis 
approval  clearly  and  at  length,  with  the  result 
that  none  of  the  bills  were  passed  over  his 
veto.225  Among  the  special  messages  of  this 
period  were  three  relating  to  Indian  depreda 
tions  in  Woodbury  and  Cherokee  Counties,  in 
consequence  of  which  a  law  was  passed  author 
izing  the  Governor  to  organize  a  company  of 
"minute  men"  for  the  protection  of  the  north 
western  frontier  of  the  State.226 

The  Eighth  General  Assembly  of  Iowa  ad 
journed  sine  die  on  the  third  day  of  April. 
Soon  afterward  Governor  Kirkwood  and  the 
members  of  his  household  returned  to  Iowa 
City.  "A  call  from  his  Excellency  .  .  .  . 
on  Monday  last,"  commented  the  editor  of  the 
Iowa  Weekly  Republican,  "did  not  so  forcibly 
remind  us  that  a  Governor  was  again  in  our 
midst,  as  it  reminded  us  that  a  plain,  every  day 
citizen,  beloved  by  his  neighbors  and  respected 
by  every  body,  was  again  returned  to  his  home, 
mingling  as  of  yore,  among  all  classes  of  his 
fellow-citizens,  extending  to  each  a  friendly 
grasp,  and  exchanging  congratulations  of 
friendship  and  good  cheer  ...  he  evinces 
none  of  the  'wear  and  tear'  incident  to  political 


164  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

station.  He  informed  us  that  he  was  weighing 
a  few  more  avoirdupois  pounds  than  at  any 
other  period  of  his  life."2-7 

By  this  time  the  thoughts  of  the  people  of 
Iowa,  as  of  the  Nation  at  large,  were  turning 
more  and  more  to  the  forthcoming  National  Re 
publican  Convention  which  was  to  convene  at 
Chicago  on  May  16th.  All  thinking  persons 
realized  that  weighty  issues  hung  upon  the 
choice  of  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  made 
by  that  convention,  and  they  wrere  deeply  inter 
ested  in  the  outcome. 

Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  did  not  followr  the  advice 
offered  by  Senator  Grimes  in  a  letter  written 
late  in  December,  1859.  "You  ought  to  be  one 
of  the  delegates  &  I  hope  you  will  see  to  it  that 
you  are  appointed",  urged  the  Senator.228 
Neither  did  the  Governor  take  seriously  the 
suggestion  made  through  the  press  by  Josiah 
B.  Grinnell  that  Kirkwood 's  name  should  be 
brought  forward  by  the  Iowa  delegation  as  a 
candidate  for  Vice  President.229  Nevertheless, 
he  did  take  a  keen  interest  in  the  convention ; 
and  while  he  was  not  one  of  the  delegates  from 
Iowa,  he  was  among  the  large  number  of  "vol 
unteers"  who  journeyed  to  Chicago  to  attend 
the  convention  and  use  their  influence  in  sup 
port  of  the  candidate  of  their  choice.2-'50 

"I  take  it  for  granted  you  will  be  in  Chicago 
during  the  session  of  the  Republican  Conven- 


FIRST  YEAR  AS  GOVERNOR  165 

tion  next  month,  and  I  write  to  say  that  Mrs. 
Farnam  &  myself  will  be  most  happy  to  see 
yourself  &  Mrs.  Kirkwood  at  our  house  during 
that  time."  This  was  the  invitation  received 
by  Governor  Kirkwood  late  in  April  from 
Henry  Farnam,  president  of  the  Chicago  and 
Eock  Island  Kailroad  Company.  "  Enclosed  is 
a  Pass  for  yourself  &  Lady  which  please  use  at 
your  pleasure  —  my  House  is  163  Michigan 
Av.",  was  the  information  contained  in  a  post 
script.231 

From  a  personal  standpoint  Kirkwood  found 
himself  somewhat  divided  in  his  sympathies  for 
several  candidates  for  the  nomination.  He  had 
warm  recollections  of  the  old  days  in  Ohio 
when  he  and  Salmon  P.  Chase  had  both  been 
members  of  the  Democratic  party.  William  H. 
Seward,  he  felt,  had  a  strong  claim  to  the  nomi 
nation,  for  the  reason  that  he  had  long  been  the 
"best  abused  man"  in  the  Republican  party. 
But  especially  was  he  attracted  by  the  person 
ality  and  doctrines  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  whom 
he  regarded  as  the  most  logical  and  promising 
candidate,  and  to  whom  in  the  end  he  gave  his 
whole-hearted  support.232 

Optimism  was  at  a  low  ebb  at  the  Lincoln 
headquarters  in  Chicago  as  the  large  New  York 
and  other  eastern  delegations  poured  into  the 
city  and  the  great  strength  of  Seward,  backed 
by  the  confident  expectations  of  a  majority  of 


166  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

the  Republicans  throughout  the  country,  be 
came  more  and  more  apparent.  "Anxiety  and 
depression"  among  the  followers  of  the  Lincoln 
banner  were  "general  and  obvious.  They  slept 
scarcely  at  all,  they  were  so  fearful  and  active." 
The  gloom  which  hung  over  the  camp  is  well 
illustrated  by  the  words  of  one  of  the  Iowa 
delegates  to  the  convention.  "Early  in  the 
evening  of  the  night  before  the  nomination  was 
to  be  made,"  said  he,  "I  had  gone  up  to  my 
room  to  get  some  rest.  I  was  fagged  by  the 
long  strain  of  the  day.  The  outlook  for  Lincoln 
was  gloomy,  indeed.  I  recall  [Alvin]  Saunders 
coming  in.  He  was  depressed  and  dubious 
about  our  chances  of  overcoming  the  New 
Yorkers.  Kirkwood  came  in  later.  He  was 
nervous  and  very  uneasy  and  glum."233 

Great  was  the  joy  of  these  men  on  the  mor 
row  when  all  opposition  was  overcome  and 
their  candidate  was  finally  nominated.  Samuel 
J.  Kirkwood  was  only  one  of  many  lowans  who, 
in  and  out  of  the  convention,  labored  in  behalf 
of  the  "rail-splitter";  and  it  has  been  said  that 
his  influence  was  not  without  weight  in  winning 
members  of  the  Ohio  delegation  over  to 
Lincoln.234 

Hopes  of  victory,  because  of  the  division  in 
the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party,  now  inspired 
Republican  leaders  to  an  enthusiastic  campaign. 
Throughout  the  months  from  May  to  November 


FIRST  YEAR  AS  GOVERNOR  167 

Governor  Kirkwood  gave  as  generously  of  his 
time  as  official  duties  would  permit,  speaking 
many  times  in  Iowa  City  and  vicinity  and  fre 
quently  at  more  distant  points.235  Especially 
was  he  urged  to  be  at  the  great  rally  in  Des 
Moines  on  August  4th.  "I  hope  you  may  be 
able  to  go",  wrote  Senator  Harlan.  "I  can  not 
on  account  of  a  previous  engagement  —  Grimes 
can  not  on  account  of  bad  health.  Unless  you 
go  there  is  danger  of  failure."230  At  the  little 
town  of  Williamsburg  on  August  llth  over 
three  thousand  people  marched  in  a  parade 
headed  by  the  "Wide  Awrakes"  from  Iowa  City, 
while  the  Marengo  delegation  was  led  by  a 
"Sax  horn  band".  "A  bountiful  dinner  was 
spread  for  the  whole  crowd  [of  five  thousand 
people],  by  the  munificence  of  the  farmers. 
.  .  .  Governor  Kirkwood  spoke  two  hours, 
making,  as  he  always  does,  a  masterly  argu 
ment."237 

Late  in  August  Mr.  Le  Grand  Byington,  a 
prominent  Democratic  citizen  of  Iowa  City, 
through  the  press  challenged  Governor  Kirk 
wood  to  a  series  of  joint  debates  in  the  counties 
lying  south  of  the  present  Rock  Island  Eailroad. 
It  seems  that  Mr.  Byington  had  some  business 
to  transact  in  this  particular  region,  and  so  he 
suggested  that  there  should  be  an  interval  of 
forty-eight  hours  between  each  of  the  meetings 
outside  of  Keokuk.  At  the  same  time  he  took 


168  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

occasion  to  outline  his  views  in  regard  to  the 
policies  of  the  Whig,  Republican,  and  Demo 
cratic  parties. 

On  September  3rd  Governor  Kirkwood  wrote 
a  reply  which  he  made  public  through  the  press. 
"Of  the  Whig  party  I  have  only  this  to  say", 
he  declared.  "It  is  not  a  living  organization. 
The  time  has  not  come  to  write  its  history,  nor 
is  either  of  us  its  proper  historian.  Its  name 
and  the  names  of  the  statesmen  and  soldiers  it 
has  given  our  country  will  be  cherished  in  our 
State,  when  your  name  and  mine  will  be  for 
gotten.  The  Republican  party  is  a  living 
organization.  You  either  misunderstand  or 
misrepresent  its  purposes  and  history." 

"I  may  not  properly  understand  what  you 
mean  by  the  assertion  that  Mr.  Lincoln  'ac 
knowledges  his  obligation'  to  the  higher  law," 
continued  the  Governor,  "but  if  you  mean  that 
if  he  shall  find  himself  commanded  by  the  law 
of  man  to  do  or  not  to  do  an  act  under  penalty, 
the  doing  or  not  doing  of  which  is  expressly 
prohibited  to  or  enjoined  upon  him  by  the  law 
of  God,  he  will,  in  such  case,  'obey  God  rather 
than  man,'  and  suffer  patiently  what  penalty 
man's  law  may  inflict,  I  hope  you  define  his 
position  truly."  He  told  Mr.  Byington  he  was 
somewhat  in  error  in  declaring  himself  a  Demo 
crat.  "You  are  a  Douglasite  and  not  a  Demo 
crat",  he  said.  Then  stating  his  own  position, 


FIRST  YEAR  AS  GOVERNOR  169 

he  declared  that  he  could  not  * l  accept  the  teach 
ings  of  the  new  men  of  the  Democratic  party 
who  deny  to  Congress "  the  power  to  prohibit 
slavery  in  the  Territories.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  said,  "I  can  and  do  cordially  sympathize  and 
act  with  the  Republican  party;  which  while 
earnestly  deprecating  and  opposing  the  exten 
sion  of  Slavery  into  free  territory,  seeks  to 
use  no  means  to  that  end,  not  sanctioned  by  the 
fathers  of  the  Constitution  and  the  Union." 

Finally,  referring  to  the  challenge  to  debate, 
Governor  Kirkwood  said :  "  I  very  much  regret 
that  I  cannot  accept  it.  My  entire  time  for  the 
next  two  weeks  is  already  engaged."  He  also 
had  many  appointments  after  that  time  in 
widely  scattered  portions  of  the  State.  Besides 
he  did  not  wish  to  confine  himself  to  the  region 
indicated  in  the  challenge,  nor  was  he  willing 
"to  waste  so  much  time"  as  the  proposed  inter 
vals  between  meetings  would  involve.238 

Nevertheless,  Governor  Kirkwood  and  Le 
Grand  Byington  did  meet  in  joint  debate  in  the 
courthouse  in  Iowa  City  on  October  26th.  Mr. 
Byington  opened  the  discussion  with  a  speech 
one  hour  in  length,  after  which  the  Governor 
was  allowed  one  hour  and  a  half  in  which  to 
reply;  and  then  Mr.  Byington  closed  the  debate 
in  a  short  speech.  "The  large  Court  Room  was 
crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity",  commented  a 
Republican  editor.  "Good  order  was  preserved 


170  SAMUEL  J.  K1HKWOOD 

and  the  Republican  cause  suffered  not  the  loss 
of  a  single  drop  of  blood  by  the  spear  of  the 
tilted  knight  of  the  Democracy,  Ye  valient  Le 
Grand  — Byington."239 

At  the  end  of  the  long  campaign  Mr.  Kirk- 
wood  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  his 
labors  had  not  been  in  vain.  His  party  was 
victorious  —  Abraham  Lincoln  would  be  the 
next  President  of  the  United  States.  "Permit 
me  to  congratulate  yon,"  he  hastened  to  write 
to  the  man  whose  hands  he  was  to  uphold  so 
faithfully  through  three  years  of  trial,  "and  I 
most  heartily  do,  upon  the  result  of  the  recent 
Presidential  election,  and  to  express  the  earnest 
hope,  that  your  administration  may  prove  as 
useful  to  our  country  and  as  honorable  to  your 
self,  as  you  yourself  can  desire."240 

Meanwhile  the  Governor  of  Iowa  had  many 
official  functions  to  perform,  though  he  was  not 
as  yet  required  by  law  to  keep  his  office  at  the 
capital  of  the  State  during  the  time  when  the 
legislature  was  not  in  session.  In  May  he  vis 
ited  Mt.  Pleasant  and  Fort  Madison  for  the 
purpose  of  conferring  with  the  authorities  and 
investigating  the  condition  of  the  Insane 
Asylum  and  the  Penitentiary.241  A  month  later 
he  appointed  George  G.  Wright  to  fill  the 
vacancy  in  the  Supreme  Court  occasioned  by 
the  death  of  Justice  L.  I).  Stockton.24-'  His 
continued  interest  in  agriculture  and  in  the  wel- 


FIRST  YEAR  AS  GOVERNOR  171 

fare  of  the  farmers  was  evidenced  when,  in 
July,  he  "  issued  a  circular  to  County  Judges 
and  others,  advising  them  to  see  that  foreign 
cattle  are  not  introduced  into  the  County  Fairs ; 
and  to  take  such  steps  as  they  may  deem  ad 
visable  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  eastern 
cattle  into  this  State  until  the  disease  that  has 
proved  so  fatal  in  Massachusetts  disappears. " 
Especially  did  he  advise  the  careful  watching  of 
all  the  ferries  and  railroads  by  which  cattle 
might  be  transported  into  Iowa.243  Late  in 
August  he  saw  fit  to  pardon  one  William  Latta, 
who  was  imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary  for 
counterfeiting,  and  thereby  he  called  forth  a 
vituperative  newspaper  attack  from  the  pen  of 
the  eccentric  Henry  Clay  Dean.244 

On  October  17th  Governor  Kirkwood  issued 
his  first  Thanksgiving  Day  proclamation,  urg 
ing  the  people  of  Iowa  on  that  day  to  "abstain 
from  all  secular  business,  and  devote  the  day  to 
the  service  of  Him,  whose  favor  is  the  only 
support  and  bulwark  of  States  and  Nations."245 
Five  days  later  he  wrote  a  long  letter  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  which  he  hoped  was 
not  intrusive,  interceding  in  behalf  of  the  set 
tlers  on  the  "Des  Moines  Elver  Lands".246  A 
few  weeks  later  he  received  notice  from  William 
Duane  Wilson  that  the  regular  annual  meeting 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Agricultural 
College  would  be  held  on  January  5,  1861. 


172  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

"Those  of  the  members  who  come  by  this  city 
[Des  Monies],"  wrote  Mr.  Wilson,  "who  desire, 
will  be  taken  by  Mr.  Bolton's  Nevada  Stage  on 
Friday  to  the  College  Farm  direct,  and  he  will 
reconvey  them  from  there  to  this  city  on  the 
following  Tuesday.  Fare  for  round  trip  $3."247 
Along  with  the  requirements  of  politics  and 
the  duties  of  office,  the  distinction  attached  to 
his  position  brought  to  Governor  Kirkwood 
many  other  demands  upon  his  time  and  atten 
tion.  "I  am  a  young  man  just  trying  to  decide 
on  an  occupation  for  life  and  I  would  like  your 
edict  on  choices  of  occupation",  wrote  an 
earnest  youth  from  Denmark  in  Lee  County. 
Some  time  later  Mr.  Kirkwood  was  notified  of 
his  election  as  a  member  of  the  Visiting  Com 
mittee  of  Cornell  College  at  Mt.  Vernon. 
Throughout  the  summer  he  received  invitations 
to  attend  county  fairs,  agricultural  exhibits, 
and  horse  shows ;  while  on  September  4th  there 
came  a  letter  calling  his  attention  "as  the  en 
lightened  friend  of  mechanical  agricultural 
progress,  to  a  new  patent  plow".  In  his  cor 
respondence  for  this  year  there  is  a  certificate 
of  honorary  membership  in  the  "Cosmopolitan 
Art  Association  of  New  York",  as  well  as  a 
receipt  for  the  sum  of  three  dollars  in  payment 
for  an  engraving  of  "Falstaff  Mustering  his 
Recruits ' '.  In  December  he  was  reflected  presi 
dent  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa.24* 


XV 

THE  CRISIS 

THERE  was  little  tranquillity  in  the  minds  of 
thoughtful  men  at  the  opening  of  the  year  1861. 
Events  were  tending  rapidly  in  the  direction  of 
civil  conflict.  The  prospect  was  dark  and 
gloomy.  On  December  20,  1860,  South  Carolina 
seceded  from  the  Union,  thus  setting  an  ex 
ample  which  was  soon  followed  by  six  other 
southern  States. 

The  year  which  had  elapsed  since  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood  delivered  his  inaugural  address  to 
the  Iowa  legislature  had  witnessed  a  gradual 
undermining  of  his  confidence  in  a  peaceful 
settlement  between  North  and  South.  "It 
really  appears  to  me",  he  wrote  to  Grimes  on 
January  12,  1861,  "as  if  our  Southern  friends 
are  determined  on  the  destruction  of  our  Gov 
ernment  unless  they  can  change  its  whole  basis, 
and  make  it  a  government  for  the  growth  and 
spread  of  slavery.  The  real  point  of  contro 
versy  is  in  regard  to  slavery  in  the  Territories. 
On  that  point  I  would  be  willing  to  go  thus  far : 
Restore  the  question  of  slavery  in  our  present 
territories  to  the  position  to  which  it  was  placed 

173 


174  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

by  the  compromise  measures  of  1850.  .  .  . 
The  whole  country  agreed  to  do  this  once,  and 
therefore  could  do  so  again."  He  then  pro 
posed  a  plan  which  would  not  require  any 
abandonment  of  principle  on  either  side. 

"But",  he  continued,  "at  all  hazards  the 
Union  must  be  honored  —  the  laws  must  be 
enforced.  What  can  I  do  in  the  premises? 
Shall  I  tender  the  aid  of  the  State  to  Mr. 
Buchanan!  Some  of  our  people  desire  an  extra 
session.  I  do  not.  My  present  intention  is  not 
to  call  an  extra  session  until  after  the  4th  of 
March.  If  after  that  time  an  extra  session  be 
necessary  to  support  the  Government  I  will  so 
far  as  in  me  lies  see  to  it  that  the  last  fighting 
man  in  the  State  and  the  last  dollar  in  the  treas 
ury  are  devoted  to  that  object,  and  our  people 
will  sustain  me."  In  a  postscript  he  urged  that 
an  arsenal  be  established  in  some  northwestern 
State.249 

Two  weeks  later  he  expressed  similar  views 
in  a  letter  to  the  members  of  the  Iowa  delega 
tion  in  Congress,  asking  them  to  represent  the 
State  at  the  peace  conference  called  by  the 
legislature  of  Virginia  to  meet  in  Washington, 
I).  C.,  on  February  4th.  He  had  too  great  a  dis 
trust  of  the  motives  back  of  the  call  by  Virginia 
to  hope  for  any  good  results  from  the  conven 
tion.  But  in  case  the  commissioners  attending 
the  meeting  should  show  themselves  "disposed 


THE  CRISIS  175 

to  act  in  earnest  for  the  preservation  of  the 
union ",  then  he  had  some  suggestions  concern 
ing  the  course  to  be  followed  by  the  Iowa 
delegates. 

"The  true  policy  for  every  good  citizen  to 
pursue",  said  the  Governor,  "is  to  set  his  face 
like  flint  against  secession,  to  call  it  by  its  true 
name,  treason.  .  .  .  But  if  '  compromise ' 
must  be  the  order  of  the  day,  then  that  compro 
mise  should  not  be  a  concession  by  one  side  of 
all  the  other  side  demands,  and  of  all  for  which 
the  conceding  side  has  been  contending.  In 
other  words,  the  north  must  not  be  expected  to 
yield  all  the  south  asks,  all  the  north  has  con 
tended  for  and  won,  and  then  call  that  compro 
mise.  That  is  not  compromise,  and  would  not 
bring  peace."  Again  he  urged  the  restoration 
of  the  slavery  question  to  the  status  in  which  it 
was  placed  by  the  compromise  measures  of  1850 
as  the  only  solution  of  the  situation  which  the 
North  could  honorably  accept.250 

These  declarations  by  Governor  Kirkwood 
may  be  taken  as  a  fair  reflection  of  the  spirit  of 
the  people  of  Iowa.  About  the  middle  of  Jan 
uary  he  was  urged  by  J.  C.  Bennett  of  Polk  City 
to  organize  the  militia  and  secure  necessary 
arms  and  supplies.  In  selecting  officers,  wrote 
Mr.  Bennett,  "let  me  entreat  of  you  to  appoint 
prompt  and  able  men  who,  tho'  they  fear  God, 
have  no  fear  of  the  devil,  and  NO  FEAR  OF 


176  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

TRAITORS,  and  who  dare  to  be  MEN,  despite  of 
party."251 

Although  the  militia  of  the  State  was  un 
organized  and  without  arms,  a  number  of 
independent  military  companies  tendered  their 
services  to  the  Governor  during  these  days  of 
anxious  foreboding.  The  Governor's  Greys  at 
Dubuque,  the  Washington  Light  Guards,  the 
Burlington  Rifles,  and  the  Mount  Pleasant 
Guards,  were  among  the  companies  which  by 
their  attitude  at  this  time  forecast  the  readiness 
of  the  people  of  Iowa  to  make  any  sacrifice  to 
preserve  the  Union.  To  each  offer  the  Gov 
ernor  responded  with  a  note  of  no  uncertain 
tone.252  "In  these  days,"  he  wrote  to  one  of 
the  captains,  "when  cabinet  officers  abet  treason 
and  use  their  official  position  to  bankrupt  and 
disarm  the  government  they  were  sworn  to  sup 
port  .  .  .  when,  in  one  portion  of  our  coun 
try,  many  men,  delirious  with  passion,  regard 
the  firing  upon  our  national  flag,  the  forcible 
seizure  of  our  national  forts,  and  the  plunder  of 
our  national  arsenals  and  treasuries,  as  manly, 
honorable  and  patriotic  service  ....  when 
in  short,  men  are  found  in  high  places,  so  lost 
to  patriotism  as  to  emulate  the  treason  of 
Benedict  Arnold,  and  so  lost  to  shame  as  to 
glory  in  their  iiifamy,  and  can  find  followers 
and  apologists  —  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that 
the  gallant  veomanrv  of  Iowa  are  still  deter- 


THE  CRISIS  177 

mined  '  to  inarch  under  the  flag  and  keep  step  to 
the  music  of  the  union.'  "253 

To  Joseph  Holt,  Secretary  of  War,  he  wrote 
on  January  24th,  enclosing  "a  letter  tendering 
to  the  President  the  services  of  the  Governor's 
Greys"  of  Dubuque.  "Whilst  I  deeply  regret 
that  the  perils  to  which  the  Union  of  the  States 
is  exposed  arise  from  domestic  and  not  from 
foreign  foes,"  he  continued,  "I  feel  a  great  and 
I  think  an  honest  pride  in  the  knowledge  that 
the  people  of  Iowa  are  possessed  of  an  unyield 
ing  devotion  to  the  Union  and  of  a  fixed  deter 
mination  that  so  far  as  depends  on  them  it  shall 
be  preserved."254 

Thus  far  Governor  Kirkwood  had  never  met 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  it  was  natural  that  he 
should  wish  a  personal  acquaintance  with  the 
man  who  had  been  chosen  to  guide  the  nation 
through  the  perils  of  the  next  four  years.  Early 
in  January,  1861,  therefore,  he  journeyed  to 
Springfield,  Illinois,  to  call  upon  the  President 
elect  before  his  departure  for  Washington, 
D.  C.  At  the  hotel  in  Springfield  the  plainly 
dressed,  unobtrusive  man  from  across  the  Mis 
sissippi  at  first  attracted  little  attention  from 
the  politicians  who  thronged  the  lobby.  But  he 
was  not  without  friends.  He  was  introduced  to 
Governor  Yates  and  shortly  afterwards,  for  the 
first  time,  shook  hands  with  Abraham  Lincoln. 
An  interview  was  arranged  and  the  future 

13 


178  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

President  came  to  Kirkwood 's  room  in  the 
hotel,  because  there  they  would  be  free  from 
disturbance. 

The  actual  words  of  that  interview  are  no 
where  on  record,  but  they  established  the  basis 
of  the  understanding  between  the  two  execu 
tives  which  lasted  through  the  dark  years  of  the 
war.  Mr.  Lincoln  "spoke  calmly,  earnestly  and 
with  great  feeling",  while  Mr.  Kirkwood 
"listened  with  anxious  interest  and  heard  with 
profound  satisfaction";  and  in  the  end  each 
man  fully  understood  the  position  of  the  other 
with  respect  to  the  great  issues  of  the  day. 
"When  he  left",  wrote  Kirkwood  later  in  life, 
"I  went  with  him  to  the  door  of  the  hotel,  and 
when  I  returned  to  the  office  I  found  myself  an 
object  of  considerable  attention.  It  was  known 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  up  stairs  with  somebody, 
and  when  it  appeared  that  I  was  that  body,  a 
good  many  people  about  the  hotel  seemed 
anxious  to  learn  who  I  was,  and  where  I  had 
come  from."-r>r> 

The  prospect  of  another  political  campaign 
within  a  few  months  seems  at  this  time  to  have 
given  Governor  Kirkwood  little  anxiety.  "I 
have  a  letter  from  Senator  Harlan  inclosing 
one  from  you  to  him,  written  on  the  subject  of 
the  next  canvass  for  the  post  you  now  fill", 
wrote  Alvin  Saunders  from  Mt.  Pleasant  on 
January  15th.  "I  feel  greatly  obliged  .  .  .  . 


THE  CRISIS  179 

particularly  to  you,  my  dear  Sir,  who  so  kindly 
offer  me  the  field  in  case  I  &  my  friends  might 
desire  a  chance  —  Allow  me,  however,  after  re 
turning  my  thanks,  to  say  to  you  that  I  do  not 
expect  to  be,  under  any  circumstances,  a  candi 
date.  So  you  may  consider  the  field  as  widely 
opened  as  you  have  been  pleased  to  make  it  for 
me."256 

In  spite  of  the  Governor's  lack  of  concern 
over  the  approaching  campaign,  he  received 
many  assurances  from  such  men  as  William  B. 
Allison,  Charles  Aldrich,  and  others  that  the 
Republican  sentiment  of  the  State  was  in  favor 
of  his  renomination.257  That  he  was  not  to  be 
free  from  opposition,  however,  was  indicated  by 
a  letter  from  A.  T.  Shaw  of  Fort  Madison,  who 
declared  that  "Dan  Miller  is  turning  Heaven 
and  Earth  but  principally  the  other  place  to 
create  disaffection  in  the  Republican  ranks  &  to 
organize  a  ' Union'  party.  His  prime  object  is 
to  secure  the  nomination  for  Governor."258 

The  early  months  of  the  year  1861  passed  in 
the  routine  of  executive  duties,  broken  only  by 
a  trip  to  the  national  capital  to  witness  the 
inauguration  of  President  Lincoln.259  Then 
came  the  fatal  twelfth  of  April,  when  the  whole 
country  was  electrified  by  the  news  that  Fort 
Sumter  had  been  fired  upon.  Three  days  later 
there  went  out  the  President's  first  call  for 
troops:  seventy-five  thousand  men  were  called 
to  the  colors. 


ISO  SAMUEL  J.  KTKKWOOD 

The  requisition  for  one  regiment,  which  was 
Iowa's  quota  in  this  first  call,  was  flashed  over 
the  wires  to  Davenport,  then  the  only  point  in 
Iowa  reached  by  the  telegraph.2  t;o  Although  the 
message  stated  that  a  letter  would  follow,  citi 
zens  of  Davenport  felt  that  no  time  should  be 
lost  in  getting  word  to  Governor  Kirkw^ood. 
Accordingly  William  Vandever,  then  member 
of  Congress  from  the  second  district  of  Iowa, 
took  the  first  train  to  Iowa  City.  Upon  his 
arrival  he  found  the  Governor  in  boots  and 
overalls  caring  for  his  stock  on  the  Coralville 
farm.261 

Just  as  the  Nation  was  now  forced  to  meet 
the  great  test  of  its  strength,  so  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood  was  face  to  face  with  the  crisis  of 
his  life.  Had  the  succeeding  three  years  been 
years  of  peace  his  name  would  have  gone  down, 
probably,  with  honorable  mention  in  the  list  of 
the  Governors  of  Iowa.  The  war  with  its  many 
demands  upon  his  good  judgment  and  resource 
fulness,  as  well  as  upon  his  time  and  strength, 
afforded  just  the  stimulus  required  to  bring 
forth  the  qualities  which  enshrined  him  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people. 


XVI 

MEN  AND  ARMS 

MOMENTARILY  overcome  by  the  significance  of 
the  message  in  his  hands,  Kirkwood  is  said  to 
have  exclaimed:  "Why  the  President  wants  a 
whole  regiment  of  men!  Do  you  suppose,  Mr. 
Vandever,  I  can  raise  that  many!"262  If  the 
Governor  really  had  any  serious  doubts  on  that 
score  his  mind  was  soon  set  at  rest.  Besides  he 
was  not  a  man  who  would  shrink  from  meeting 
an  emergency  or  spend  much  time  in  fearful 
inactivity.  But  he  was  keenly  aware  of  his  own 
lack  of  knowledge  of  military  affairs,  and  he 
knew  that  not  only  were  the  people  of  Iowa 
devoid  of  military  training  but  also  that  the 
State  was  without  arms  and  the  other  necessary 
equipment  for  troops. 

Kealizing  the  necessity  of  being  in  direct 
telegraphic  communication  with  Washington, 
the  Governor  immediately  betook  himself  to 
Davenport,  where  he  spent  much  of  the  time 
for  several  weeks.  He  arrived  in  that  city  just 
in  time  to  participate  in  a  great  mass  meeting 
at  which  party  lines  were  ignored  and  the  spirit 
of  loyalty  to  the  Union  blazed  forth  in  no  un- 

181 


182  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

certain  manner.  Perhaps  underestimating  the 
difficulties  to  be  met,  Governor  Kirkwood  in  his 
address  indicated  that  he  would  not  call  an 
extra  session  of  the  General  Assembly  because 
of  the  cost.  "The  expense  of  enlistment  and 
starting  away  of  the  regiment  would  cost  about 
$10,000;  and  this  matter  could  be  attended  to 
without  the  present  intervention  of  the  Legis 
lature.  The  Governor  said  that  he  would  see 
that  these  expenses  were  paid  until  the  regi 
ment  was  handed  over  to  the  Government.  He 
said  that  $10,000  would  be  raised  for  this  pur 
pose,  if  he  had  to  pledge  every  dollar  of  his  own 
property.  He  made  an  eloquent  appeal  to  the 
patriotism  of  his  listeners ;  and  though  sick,  he 
gave  one  of  the  most  stirring  addresses  of  the 
evening."263 

Perhaps  it  was  the  patriotic  fervor  reflected 
in  this  enthusiastic  mass  meeting  which  in 
spired  a  letter  written  by  Governor  Kirkwood 
a  few  days  later  to  Simon  Cameron,  then  Secre 
tary  of  War.  "Ten  days  ago",  he  said,  "we 
had  two  parties  in  this  State;  to-day  we  have 
but  one,  and  that  one  is  for  the  Constitution 
and  Union  unconditionally.  "2<i4 

The  Governor's  proclamation  was  issued  on 
April  17th,  officially  informing  the  people  of 
Iowa  that  they  had  been  asked  to  raise  one 
regiment  of  men,  to  be  in  rendezvous  at  Keokuk 
by  May  20th.  "The  Nation  is  in  peril",  he 


MEN  AND  ARMS  183 

warned  the  people.  "A  fearful  attempt  is 
being  made  to  overthrow  the  Constitution  and 
dissever  the  Union.  The  aid  of  every  loyal 
citizen  is  invoked  to  sustain  the  General  Gov 
ernment.  For  the  honor  of  our  State  let  the 
requirement  of  the  President  be  cheerfully  and 
promptly  met."265  On  the  same  day  he  wrote 
to  individuals  in  the  various  counties  of  the 
State,  urging  them  to  put  forth  efforts  to  raise 
at  least  one  company  of  men  in  each  county.266 

Even  before  these  appeals  had  been  sent 
forth  the  Governor's  temporary  misgiving  con 
cerning  his  ability  to  raise  a  regiment  had  been 
dispelled.  Within  less  than  twenty-four  hours 
after  the  news  of  the  President's  call  reached 
Iowa  the  services  of  fifteen  or  twenty  com 
panies  had  been  offered  to  Kirkwood.267  He 
very  soon  found  that  his  embarrassments  arose 
not  from  a  dearth  of  men  ready  and  anxious  to 
serve  their  country,  but  from  his  inability  to 
secure  arms,  accoutrements,  and  clothing  for 
the  soldiers. 

So  eager  were  men  to  enlist  that  the  number 
who  offered  themselves  soon  exceeded  the 
power  of  the  Governor  to  accept.  "I  am  very 
sorry  I  have  not  received  your  personal  offer  of 
your  company",  he  wrote  to  the  captain  of  a 
company  at  Columbus  City  on  April  24th.  "I 
have  now  offers  of  companies  for  two  regiments 
and  can't  get  your  company  in  either  unless  I 


184  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

can  get  leave  to  put  more  than  ten  companies  in 
a  regiment.  Men  are  here  with  offers  of  their 
companies  &  almost  quarrel  with  me  because  I 
can't  receive  them."208 

The  last  sentence  was  in  reality  a  mild  state 
ment  of  a  situation  which  in  some  instances 
gave  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  no  end  of  unpleasant 
ness.  "It  is  entirely  out  of  my  power  to  accept 
the  Keokuk  Company  for  the  first  regiment 
without  turning  out  of  the  regiment  a  company 
organized  &  reed  before  the  Keokuk  Company 
was  organized",  he  wrote  on  April  25th,  in 
reply  to  the  complaint  of  an  old  friend.  "I  do 
not  think  I  ought  to  be  asked  to  do  this  and 
certainly  cannot  do  it.  I  am  sorry  the  people 
of  Keokuk  show  'the  greatest  feeling  and  the 
most  intense  disappointment/  and  I  hope  you 
will  endeavor  to  give  their  feelings  some  other 
direction  than  that  of  complaint  against  what 
is  unavoidable."-09 

Again,  on  the  following  day,  he  wrote  that 
"I  am  very  sorry  to  find  that  instead  of  aiding 
me  in  my  present  difficult  &  embarrassing 
position  you  are  disposed  not  only  to  take  a 
contrary  course  yourself  but  to  induce  your 
people  by  misrepresentation  or  misunderstand 
ing  to  do  the  same.  I  cannot  imagine  why  this 
is  so  but  must  accept  the  existing  fact  and  try 
and  get  along  as  best  I  may."27"  Still  later,  in 
writing  to  another  citizen  of  Keokuk  concern- 


MEN  AND  ARMS  185 

ing  the  same  matter,  Kirkwood  declared:  "It  is 
somewhat  humiliating  to  me  to  be  under  the 
necessity  of  thus  explaining  the  reasons  of  my 
i outgoings  and  incomings'  and  I  would  not 
recognize  a  necessity  for  so  doing  but  for  some 
recollections  of  a  pleasant  nature  connected 
with  my  visit  to  your  home  in  the  fall  of  1859. 
My  personal  regard  induces  me  to  do  what 
otherwise  I  would  not  do."271 

The  worries  of  the  Iowa  executive,  then,  did 
not  arise  from  the  reluctance  of  the  citizens  to 
enlist:  his  anxiety  was  rather  to  appease  the 
resentment  of  many  who  could  not  at  that  time 
be  accepted.  Nor  was  he  long  at  a  loss  for 
funds  with  which  to  equip  the  Iowa  troops.  To 
be  sure  there  was  no  money  in  the  State  treas 
ury,  and,  besides,  not  a  cent  of  public  funds 
could  be  used  without  authorization  by  the 
General  Assembly.  But  the  patriotism  which 
on  the  one  hand  exhibited  itself  in  the  eagerness 
of  men  to  place  their  lives  at  the  service  of 
their  country  also  found  expression  in  the 
prompt  offer  of  banking  institutions  and  men  of 
wealth  to  stand  back  of  the  State  in  this 
emergency.  The  expenses  of  raising,  drilling, 
and  maintaining  the  troops  must  be  borne  by 
the  State  until  the  men  were  mustered  into  the 
service  of  the  United  States  government.  The 
names  of  Hiram  Price  of  Davenport,  Ezekiel 
Clark  of  Iowa  City,  J.  K.  and  K.  E.  Graves  of 


186  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

Dubuque,  W.  T.  Smith  of  Oskaloosa,  Governor 
Kirkwood  himself,  and  many  other  citizens  of 
Iowa,  without  regard  to  political  affiliations, 
must  always  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance. 
Unhesitatingly  they  pledged  all  of  their  per 
sonal  property  in  order  that  Iowa  might  be 
able  to  do  its  full  duty  in  this  hour  of  National 
peril.272 

Men  were  to  be  had  in  abundance.  Money 
sufficient  for  immediate  needs  was  cheerfully 
offered.  But  men  without  arms  and  equipment 
were  of  little  use  in  warfare ;  and  when  guns 
could  not  be  secured  at  any  price  money  was  of 
no  avail.  The  Federal  authorities  were  at  their 
wTits  ends  amid  all  the  clamors  which  arose, 
while  manufacturers  of  arms  and  munitions 
could  not  at  once  supply  a  Nation  unprepared 
for  wTar.  Governor  Kirkwood,  therefore,  soon 
became  very  impatient  because  of  his  inability 
to  procure  the  necessary  equipment  for  the  men 
who  early  in  May  gathered  at  the  appointed 
rendezvous  at  Keokuk.  Cloth  for  uniforms  was 
purchased,  to  be  sure,  and  the  women  of  Iowa 
needed  no  urging  to  employ  willing  fingers  in 
the  making  of  clothing  for  the  soldier  boys. 
The  Governor  expressed  his  appreciation  of 
this  service  in  a  letter  to  Mrs.  A.  Gillespie  of 
Dubuque  thanking  the  ladies  of  that  city  for 
fitting  out  two  companies  of  volunteers.  "You 
have  set  a  noble  example",  he  wrote,  "in  thus 


MEN  AND  ARMS  187 

coming  forward  in  the  time  of  our  need,  and 
have  shown  us  by  this  patriotic  offering  to  the 
welfare  of  our  gallant  soldiers  that  it  needs  but 
the  occasion  to  reproduce  the  heroines  of 

76.  "273 

But  guns  and  ammunition  could  not  be  made 
in  Iowa,  even  by  the  most  willing.  And  so 
Governor  Kirkwood  sought  in  every  possible 
manner  to  secure  these  most  essential  supplies. 
On  April  29th  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
saying  that  one  regiment  was  ready  to  be  mus 
tered  in,  and  another  had  been  raised ;  while  a 
third  regiment  was  anxiously  waiting  to  be 
received.  He  could  raise  ten  thousand  men  in 
twenty  days,  but  the  State  had  no  arms  except 
a  few  old-fashioned  muskets.  "If  no  arrange 
ment  has  been  made  for  arms  for  this  State, " 
he  implored,  "do,  for  God's  sake,  send  us 
some."274  Two  days  later  he  enumerated  his 
attempts  to  secure  guns  in  the  following  letter 
to  Senator  James  Harlan: 

Friend  Harlan:  My  efforts  to  get  arms  thus  far 
have  been : 

1.  A  pressing  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  April 
18,  on  the  subject  —  yet  unanswered. 

2.  Sending  Senator  Grimes,  April  23d,  especially 
on  that  errand  to  Washington  —  not  yet  heard  from. 

3.  Writing  to   Governor  of  Connecticut  if  arms 
can  be  bought  of  private  manufacturers  in  that  State 
—  not  yet  answered  —  letter  April  24. 


188  SAMUEL  J.  KIRK  WOOD 

4.  An    arrangement    with    military   committee    of 
Chicago  for  a  loan  of  1,000  guns. —  This,  I  think,  is 
perfected,  and  the  guns  will  be  shipped  tomorrow  to 
Burlington. 

5.  1  have  sent  a  special  messenger  to  Springfield, 
Illinois,    to    procure    if    possible,    part    of    the    arms 
recently  brought  there   from  St.  Louis.     If  he  fails 
there,  to  go  to  St.  Louis  and  try  the  officer  there  — 
not  yet  heard  from. 

6.  Have  called  an  extra  session. 

Can  you  suggest  anything  more  —  if  so,  I  will 
follow  it.275 

Rifles  of  an  inferior  grade  were  eventually 
secured  for  the  first  Iowa  regiments,  but  for  a 
year  or  more  Governor  Kirkwood  was  embar 
rassed  by  the  delay  in  providing  equipment  for 
his  soldiers.  His  many  difficulties,  however, 
had  only  served  to  fix  his  determination  that  the 
war  must  be  fought  to  a  definite  conclusion. 
He  had  hoped  against  hope  that  an  effective 
compromise  might  be  made,  but  now  that  hope 
was  gone  and  he  had  no  more  faith  in  pacific 
measures.  "I  want  this  thing  settled",  he 
wrote  to  Enoch  W.  Eastman  of  Eldora.  "It 
will  be  cheaply  done  at  a  cost  of  men  &  treasure 
greater  than  our  revolution  cost."-7'1 

The  gravity  of  the  situation  soon  convinced 
the  Governor,  contrary  to  his  earlier  attitude, 
that  immediate  legislative  action  was  neces 
sary.  On  April  25th,  therefore,  he  issued  a 


MEN  AND  ARMS  189 

proclamation  calling  the  General  Assembly  to 
convene  in  special  session  on  Wednesday,  May 
15th.277 

Two  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  ap 
pointed  day  found  the  legislators  at  Des  Moines 
in  readiness  to  pass  the  laws  necessary  to  put 
the  State  on  a  war  basis.  Their  number  was 
not  complete,  for  several  members  had  enlisted 
in  the  Iowa  regiments  and  were  then  in  camp. 
But  as  the  extra  session  opened  loyalty  to  the 
Union  was  on  every  member's  lips  if  not  in  all 
their  hearts.  In  the  House  of  Representatives 
"honest"  John  Edwards  as  Speaker  displayed 
a  fine  spirit  when  in  a  brief  address  he  declared 
that  at  such  a  time  "the  partizan  should  be 
come  merged  in  the  patriot."  And  "having 
been  elected  to  the  position  I  now  hold  as  your 
presiding  officer  by  the  dominant  party  on  this 
floor,"  he  said,  "in  justice  to  the  minority,  I 
am  now  willing  to  resign  my  position  into  the 
hands  of  any  other  member  of  this  body".  But 
his  offer  was  unanimously  declined,  and  imme 
diately  afterward  when  a  resolution  was  offered 
calling  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of 
three  Democrats  and  three  Republicans  it  was 
voted  to  strike  out  the  words  "Republicans" 
and  "Democrats".278 

On  the  morning  of  May  16th  each  branch  of 
the  legislature  listened  to  a  message  from  Gov 
ernor  Kirkwood,  in  which  he  stated  his  reasons 


190  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

for  calling  the  special  session  and  outlined  the 
measures  which  he  believed  should  be  enacted 
into  law.  The  opening  words  briefly  emphasized 
the  seriousness  of  the  situation  which  had 
placed  the  maintenance  of  the  Union  in  jeop 
ardy.  "In  this  contingency/'  said  the  Gov 
ernor,  "Iowa  must  not  and  does  not  occupy  a 
doubtful  position."  To  support  the  govern 
ment  "the  people  of  Iowa  are  ready  to  pledge 
every  fighting  man  in  the  State,  and  every 
dollar  of  her  money  and  credit;  and  I  have 
called  you  together  in  Extraordinary  Session 
for  the  purpose  of  enabling  them  to  make  that 
pledge  formal  and  effective."  The  South  had 
struck  a  blow  at  the  life  of  a  government  that 
had  long  shown  unexampled  patience,  and  the 
reply  was  "such  as  to  show  the  world  the 
strength  of  a  Government  founded  on  the  love 
of  a  free  people." 

The  first  concern  of  the  legislature,  suggested 
the  Governor,  should  be  to  legalize  the  actions 
taken  by  the  chief  executive  and  others  without 
authority  of  law  to  meet  immediate  exigencies. 
He  had  borrowed  money  on  the  credit  of  the 
State.  Two  regiments  of  troops  had  been 
raised,  furnished  with  uniforms,  transported  to 
the  rendezvous  at  Keokuk  nearly  two  weeks 
before  the  day  set  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  and 
there  drilled  and  maintained  in  camp.  Prompt 
provision  should  be  made  for  the  payment  of 


MEN  AND  ARMS  191 

the  expenses  thus  incurred;  while  at  the  same 
time  funds  should  be  made  available  to  meet 
future  needs  along  the  same  line.  He  also 
referred  to  the  legislators  the  question  of 
whether  or  not  the  State  should  compensate  the 
volunteers  for  their  time  until  they  were  mus 
tered  into  Federal  service. 

Two  great  objects  to  be  kept  always  in  view 
were  "the  protection  of  our  State  against  inva 
sion  and  the  prompt  supply  to  the  General 
Government  of  any  further  aid  it  may  re 
quire.  "  While  Governor  Kirkwood  did  not 
anticipate  an  invasion  by  regular  troops  from 
Missouri  he  did  fear  that  guerrilla  bands  would 
take  advantage  of  the  unsettled  conditions  to 
institute  plunder  and  border  warfare.  More 
over,  the  northwestern  border  of  Iowa  was 
exposed  to  Indian  attack,  and  the  memory  of 
the  unpunished  Spirit  Lake  massacre  was  too 
fresh  to  allow  any  assurance  of  safety  for  the 
settlements  in  that  section  without  adequate 
military  protection.  He  submitted  two  plans 
by  which  the  duty  of  the  State  might  be  per 
formed. 

"One  is  mustering  into  the  service  of  the 
State,  arming,  equipping  and  placing  in  camp 
to  acquire  discipline  and  drill  a  number  of 
regiments  of  Volunteers. "  This  method  had 
the  advantage  of  providing  a  disciplined  force 
ready  for  any  emergency  of  the  State  or  nation, 


192  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

but  it  would  be  expensive  and  would  not  ade 
quately  protect  the  borders  of  Iowa.  "The 
other  plan",  said  the  Governor,  "is  to  organize 
along  the  Southern  and  Western  frontier,  arm 
and  equip  but  not  muster  into  active  service  a 
sufficient  force  of  minute  men,  who  may  be 
called  upon  at  any  moment  to  meet  any  emer 
gency  that  may  arise  at  any  point.  This  will  be 
the  more  effective  plan  for  home  protection, 
but  will  not  place  the  State  in  position  to  render 
such  effective  aid  to  the  General  Government." 
The  enactment  of  a  militia  law,  providing 
among  other  things  for  a  military  staff  for  the 
Governor,  was  another  necessity.  While  pri 
vate  citizens  or  boards  of  supervisors  in  most 
of  the  counties  from  which  companies  had  been 
accepted  had  raised  funds  for  the  support  of 
the  needy  families  of  volunteers,  he  believed 
that  this  expense  should  be  borne  by  the  State 
in  order  that  the  burden  might  be  more  equally 
distributed.  The  securing  of  an  adequate  sup 
ply  of  arms  for  the  defense  of  the  State  was 
still  another  matter  demanding  attention. 
"The  last  few  weeks",  said  the  Governor  out 
of  the  fullness  of  his  recent  experience,  "have 
taught  us  a  lesson  which  I  trust  we  may  never 
forget,  that  peace  is  the  proper  time  in  which  to 
prepare  for  war."  He  also  suggested  a  re 
vision  and  strengthening  of  the  revenue  laws  of 
the  State. 


MEN  AND  ARMS  193 

"Permit  me  in  conclusion  to  express  the  hope 
that  what  you  may  do  may  be  done  promptly, 
calmly  and  thoroughly",  was  Kirkwood's  clos 
ing  admonition  in  this  historic  message.  "Let 
us  take  no  counsel  from  passion,  give  no  way  to 
excitement.  Let  us  look  our  situation  boldly 
and  squarely  in  the  face,  and  address  ourselves 
to,  and  do  our  duty  like  men  who  believe  that 
while  we  hold  to  our  Fathers'  faith  and  tread  in 
our  Fathers '  steps,  the  God  of  our  Fathers  will 
stand  by  us  in  the  time  of  our  trial,  as  He  stood 
by  them  in  the  time  of  theirs."279 

The  words  of  the  Governor  did  not  pass  un 
heeded.  Both  branches  of  the  General  Assem 
bly  soon  adopted  a  concurrent  resolution 
declaring  that  "the  faith,  credit  and  resources 
of  the  State  of  Iowa,  both  in  men  and  money 
are  hereby  irrevocably  pledged  to  any  amount 
and  to  every  extent  which  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  may  demand,  to  suppress  treason,  subdue 
rebellion,  enforce  the  laws,  protect  the  lives  and 
property  of  all  loyal  citizens  and  maintain  in 
violate  the  Constitution  and  sovereignty  of  the 
Nation."280  And  while  it  must  not  be  imagined 
that  the  spirit  of  harmony  and  good-will  so 
much  in  evidence  on  the  opening  days  prevailed 
throughout  the  two-week  session,  the  legislators 
did  not  rest  content  with  the  expression  of 
fine-sounding  sentiments  of  loyalty. 

With  commendable  zeal  the  General  Assem- 

14 


194  SAMUEL  ,].  K  IKK  WOO  I) 

hly  addressed  itself  to  the  Imsiness  in  hand. 
Practically  all  of  Governor  Kirkwood's  recom 
mendations  were  followed  and  enacted  into 
law.  A  "War  and  Defense4  Fund"  was  created 
and  provision  was  made  for  the  sale  of  State 
bonds  to  the  amount  of  eight  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  The  militia  law  was  revised,  a  military 
staff  of  four  special  aids  with  the  rank  of 
Lieutenant  Colonel  of  cavalry  was  provided  for 
the  Governor,  and  he  was  authorized  to  raise 
regiments  and  battalions  of  infantry,  cavalry, 
and  artillery  for  the  defense  of  the  borders  of 
the  State.  Soldiers  were  to  receive  pay  for 
their  services  until  the  time  when  they  were 
mustered  into  the  United  States  army,  and 
county  officials  were  authorized  to  use  public 
funds  in  caring  for  the  families  of  volunteers. 
A  contingent  fund  of  ten  thousand  dollars  for 
the  remainder  of  the  year  18b'1  was  placed  at 
the  Governor's  disposal  and  he  was  empowered 
to  employ  a  private  secretary.-*1  In  fact,  with 
frequent  reference  to  Governor  Kirkwood  for 
advice  and  information,282  the  General  Assem 
bly  of  Town  promptly  did  all  in  its  power  to 
facilitate  the  activities  of  the  chief  executive 
and  enable  the  State  to  pel-form  its  full  duty 
in  the  Xatioirs  crisis. 


XVII 

A  WAR-TIME  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGN 

PARTISANSHIP,  although  partially  consumed  by 
the  flame  of  patriotism  which  blazed  up  in  every 
town  and  hamlet  of  Iowa  at  the  firing  on  Fort 
Sumter,  was  not  totally  destroyed.  All  too 
soon  it  revived  under  the  favorable  conditions 
produced  by  the  war  and  its  many  problems. 
Thenceforth  the  already  overburdened  author 
ities,  both  in  State  and  Nation,  were  harassed 
by  attacks  from  the  rear  which  were  more 
difficult  to  combat  than  the  hostility  of  open 
enemies.  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  as  Governor  of 
Iowa,  received  his  full  share  of  bitter,  partisan 
abuse. 

The  first  shock  occasioned  by  the  definite 
rupture  between  North  and  South  had  scarcely 
lost  its  effect  before  political  party  machinery 
in  Iowa  was  put  into  full  operation  in  prepara 
tion  for  the  coming  State  election.  From  the 
beginning  there  could  have  been  little  doubt  of 
the  outcome,  but  it  soon  appeared  that  it  was 
not  to  be  a  colorless  campaign.  "Your  enemies 
think  the  present  a  glorious  opportunity  to  get 
sweet  revenge  &  destroy  your  influence ' ',  wrote 

195 


196  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Ezekiel  Clark  late  in  May,  "but  yon  will  prob 
ably  be  saved  from  annihilation  by  an  arm 
stronger  &  a  power  higher  than  your  puny  ad 
versaries.  .  .  .  You  will  probably  find  ad 
versaries  &  false  friends  where  you  will  not 
expect  them."283  From  a  friend  at  Council 
Bluffs  a  week  later  came  the  warning  that  "a 
strong  effort  will  be  made  to  defeat  you  in  the 
next  convention  and  the  disappointment  of 
rejected  military  Companies  will  be  turned  to 
account  against  you.  This  is  unfair  and  un 
manly,  but  the  aspirants  for  your  place  are  not 
going  to  be  over  scrupulous  about  that." 

The  prediction  in  this  letter  was  not  un 
founded.  So  persistent  and  widespread  did  the 
charge  of  favoritism  in  the  acceptance  of  vol 
unteer  companies  become  that  the  leading 
Republican  newspaper  of  the  State  came  to  the 
Governor's  defense.  "When  the  requisition 
was  made  by  the  General  Government  for  one 
regiment  from  this  State,"  declared  the  editor, 
'  *  Gov.  Kirkwood  could  not  know  —  no  man 
could  have  foretold  —  that  ten  companies  would 
eagerly  press  forward  for  every  one  that  could 
be  accepted.  His  anxiety  was  to  have  the  men 
in  camp  at  the  time  designated  by  the  War 
Department,  and  companies  were  then  accepted 
who  were  able  to  be  first  upon  the  ground."285 

Several  weeks  later  another  correspondent 
informed  Kirkwood  of  another  basis  upon  which 


WAR-TIME  CAMPAIGN  197 

opposition  to  him  was  being  manufactured, 
namely,  his  refusal  to  allow  men  to  squander 
the  State's  money  under  the  excitement  of  war. 
For,  said  the  writer,  "a  man  just  now  can  urge 
economy  but  at  the  risk  of  being  a  secessionist 
&  a  rebel  &  this  the  scamps  know  and  will  take 
advantage  of  it  to  open  the  doors  of  the  treasury 
to  their  own  craving  stomachs."286 

All  this  time  the  Governor  was  too  busy  with 
public  duties  to  devote  much  thought  to  his  own 
political  prospects.  Thus  the  Republican  State 
Convention  was  held  at  Des  Moines  on  July 
31st,  without  any  apparent  previous  activity  on 
his  part  to  make  sure  of  a  renomination. 
Although  there  was  not  absolute  unity  among 
the  delegates  who  composed  this  convention, 
the  platform  adopted  was  such  as  to  satisfy  the 
most  loyal  patriot.  Ignoring  all  minor  issues, 
each  of  its  eight  planks  expressed  an  unalter 
able  determination  that  the  Union  must  be  pre 
served,  no  matter  what  the  cost.287 

The  informal  ballot  for  the  party's  nominee 
showed  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  far  in  the  lead,  his 
competitors  being  Samuel  F.  Miller,  Elijah 
Sells,  Fitz  Henry  Warren,  and  S.  A.  Eice.  On 
the  first  formal  ballot  Kirkwood 's  support  was 
even  larger  and  thereupon  his  nomination  was 
made  unanimous.288 

There  is  good  reason  to  believe,  however,  that 
the  whole  story  of  the  nomination  is  not  re- 


1<)S  SAMl'KL  .1.  KIRKWOOD 

vealed  in  the  record  of  votes.  "Yon  have 
doubtless  heard  that  tlie  rubicon  is  passed,  the 
Batteries  taken,  cV:  yon  tlie  victor  in  our  state 
Convention",  wrote  William  B.  Allison.  "It  is 
useless  to  disguise  or  deny  the  fact  [that]  there 
was  a  most  bitter  and  determined  opposition  in 
the  Convention  to  yonr  re-nomination.  They 
wore  unable  to  concentrate  their  forces  on  any 
one  man  so  that  they  really  made  but  little 
headway  when  the  hour  for  balloting  arrived. 
The  principal  opposition  seemed  to  be  from  the 
southern  portion  of  the  state1,  &  Linn  County  in 
the  North."  Many  of  Kirkwood's  friends,  said 
Allison,  had  nearly  become  convinced  that  some 
other  man  would  be  better  able  to  harmonize 
the  factions  in  the  party.  He  also  urged  the 
Governor  to  send  men  (including  II.  M.  Hoxie) 
to  the  southern  comities  of  Iowa  to  investigate 
the  measures  necessary  to  defend  that  region 
against  possible  attack  from  Missouri.  Such 
action,  he  said,  would  tend  to  allay  the  dissatis 
faction  in  that  section.-80 

The  northern  part  of  the  State  also  showed 
some  signs  of  discontent.  Eliphalet  Price 
wrote  from  Guttenberg  on  August  8th,  con 
gratulating  Kirkwood  on  his  renomi  nation. 
kk\Ve  are  putting  on  and  adjusting  our  Lincoln 
harness  for  the  stum])  this  fall'1,  he  said.  "It 
will  be  a  warm  contest  and  a  bitter  one." 
The  following  week  lie  informed  the  Governor 


WAR-TIME  CAMPAIGN  199 

of  the  efforts  which  were  being  made  by  Reuben 
Noble  and  others  in  Clayton  County  to  organize 
a  "Union  Party",  and  alluded  to  the  charges  of 
favoritism  in  the  acceptance  of  companies.  "I 
think  that  they  will  be  glad  to  drop  this  when 
they  are  informed  that  all  will  be  received  who 
come",  he  added.  "The  Enlisting  feeling  has 
very  much  subsided  [in  the]  north,  now  when  it 
is  known  that  they  are  wanted."291  Many  let 
ters  received  by  Kirkwood  during  the  fall, 
however,  indicate  that  the  dissatisfaction  in  the 
northern  counties  was  not  so  much  personal 
opposition  to  him,  as  the  feeling  that  the  Re 
publican  leaders,  especially  Grimes  and  Harlan, 
had  neglected  that  portion  of  the  State  in  the 
matter  of  appointments. 

The  allusion  to  the  proposed  "Union  Party" 
was  not  without  foundation,  and  as  a  matter  of 
fact  this  movement  was  one  which  gave  the 
Republicans  considerable  anxiety.  At  a  con 
vention  held  in  Des  Moines  on  August  28th,  this 
party  nominated  Nathaniel  B.  Baker  for  Gov 
ernor,  Laurin  Dewey  for  Lieutenant  Governor, 
and  Reuben  Noble  for  Supreme  Court  Judge. 
Both  Baker  and  Noble,  however,  declined  to 
accept  the  nomination.  Mr.  Baker,  as  will  be 
seen,  soon  became  Adjutant  General  and  served 
with  great  distinction  in  that  important  posi 
tion  throughout  the  war;  while  Reuben  Noble 
and  Laurin  Dewey  continued  to  be  among 


200  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Governor  Kirkwood's  most  loyal  supporters.202 
So  that  in  reality  the  Union  party  movement 
had  little  effect  on  the  campaign. 

The  Democrats  particularly  were  in  a  quan 
dary  during1  this  period,  for  the  party  was  split 
into  two  factions  —  the  "War  Democrats "  and 
the  "Peace  Democrats".  Two  State  conven 
tions  were  held,  one  on  July  24th,  at  which  time 
Charles  Mason  was  nominated  for  Governor, 
and  Maturin  L.  Fisher  for  Lieutenant  Gov 
ernor.  At  another  convention  held  on  August 
29th  William  H.  Merritt  was  chosen  in  the  place 
of  Mr.  Fisher,  who  had  declined  the  nomination. 
Still  later  Judge  Mason,  apparently  under 
pressure,  withdrew  from  the  head  of  the  ticket, 
and  an  effort  was  made  to  unify  the  factions  of 
the  party  under  the  leadership  of  Col.  Merritt, 
whose  loyalty  was  unquestioned;  while  Maturin 
L.  Fisher  was  restored  to  his  former  position  as 
the  candidate  for  Lieutenant  Governor.2"-"' 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  campaign  of  1861 
was  in  any  sense  spectacular.  There  was  very 
little  speech-making  and  an  equal  dearth  of 
newspaper  controversy.  The  war  overshad 
owed  all  else.  To  be  sure,  Governor  Kirkwood 
was  frequently  urged  to  visit  certain  localities 
and  present  his  views  on  the  issues  of  the  day, 
but  on  only  two  occasions  did  he  take  time  from 
his  executive  duties  to  accede  to  these  demands. 
On  September  4th  in  Sherman  I  fall  in  Des 


WAR-TIME  CAMPAIGN  201 

Moines  he  made  an  address  which  deserves  to 
be  called  an  Iowa  classic.  In  tone  and  content 
it  was  far  removed  from  the  plea  of  a  mere 
seeker  after  office.  The  second  speech  was 
delivered  at  Davenport  about  one  month  later, 
and  while  perhaps  less  notable  it  was  similar  to 
the  Des  Moines  address  in  character. 

The  Sherman  Hall  address  was  made  with 
less  than  six  hours  preparation,  and  therefore 
it  came  unmodified  by  considerations  of  ex 
pediency  directly  from  the  heart  of  the  Gov 
ernor.294  After  a  brief  introduction  he  said: 

I  again  find  myself  what  I  once  thought  I  never 
again  would  be,  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  Governor ; 
and  I  confess  I  find  myself  in  peculiar  and  unpleasant 
circumstances.  .  .  .  First,  the  country  is  in  a 
condition  such  as  it  was  never  in  before. —  We  have 
had  war  before,  but  never  a  civil  war.  We  have  had 
strife  before,  but  never  internecine  strife.  And  many 
of  the  good  people  who  are  in  favor  of  pressing  this 
war  thoroughly,  vigorously,  and  triumphantly  to  an 
end,  believe  that  an  error  was  committed  in  making  a 
party  nomination  at  this  time. —  They  think  that  the 
gentlemen  who  have  placed  me  in  nomination  have 
erred.  That  is  one  thing.  Another  is,  and  I  am  very 
sorry  to  say  it,  that  some  of  my  own  political  house 
hold  think  that  I  am  not  the  man,  that  we  should  have 
had  some  other  person. 

Logically  and  clearly  he  showed  how  impos 
sible  it  would  have  been  to  make  a  thoroughly 


L>()2  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKW001) 

non-partisai]  nomination.  There  was  no  way  by 
which  sncli  an  action  could  have  been  accom 
plished.  Besides  in  this  crisis  the  Republicans 
were  willing  to  ignore  all  issues  save  that  of 
preserving  the  Union  and  on  that  ground  they 
were  glad  to  welcome  to  their  ranks  all  citizens 
whatever  their  beliefs  on  other  questions. 

"Now,  my  friends,"  continued  the  Governor, 
"a  few  words  on  a  subject  to  me  more  delicate. 
As  the  Chief  Executive  of  the  State  since  the 
war  commenced,  much  fault  has  been  found 
with  me.  I  am  a  plain  man;  and  although  it 
may  not  be  prudent  in  me  as  a  candidate  to 
speak  in  regard  to  these  matters,  yet  I  propose 
to  say  some  things  to  you  in  a  very  plain  way. 
A  great  many  gentlemen  think  I  have  not  been 
energetic  enough;  that  I  have  not  been  efficient 
enough;  that  I  have  not  pushed  forward  the 
work  as  vigorously  as  I  should  have  done.  That 
may  be  true.  That  I  may  have  committed  errors 
I  think  is  not  only  very  possible,  but  very  prob 
able."  Vividly  he  outlined  the  difficulties  con 
fronting  the  administration  at  Washington  as 
well  as  that  of  Iowa.  "And  I  do  insist  upon 
it",  he  said,  "that  instead  of  hunting  some 
thing  to  find  fault  with,  you  should  strengthen 
and  uphold  your  public  agents." 

"It  has  been  said  that  the  Iowa  volunteers 
have  not  been  clothed  as  well  and  as  rapidly  as 
thev  should  have  been  clothed",  the  speaker 


WAR-TIME  CAMPAIGN  203 

next  declared.  "That  is  your  fault,  not  mine. 
I  had  not  the  money  to  do  it.  You  have  it,  and 
I  have  not  been  furnished  with  it.  The  clothes 
worn  by  your  First,  Second  and  Third  Regi 
ments  to-day  have  not  been  paid  for !  .  .  .  . 
Much  fault  was  found  with  me  because  your 
soldiers  at  Keokuk  did  not  receive  their  poor 
pittance  of  pay,  which  they  were  to  receive 
from  the  State.  .  .  .  You  know  as  well  as  I 
that  the  Executive  of  this  State  had  not  a  dollar 
to  advance  to  the  soldiers.  After  they  were 
mustered  in  at  Keokuk,  Ezekiel  Clark,  Hiram 
Price,  of  Davenport,  and  your  Speaker,  bor 
rowed  on  their  private  credit  the  money,  some 
$30,000,  which  was  required  to  pay  them,  and 
paid  it,  and  the  debt  is  unsatisfied  to-day.  .  .  . 
The  bank  of  this  city  holds  my  protested  notes 
for  $6,000.  ...  I  was  absent  from  home 
last  week,  and  found  upon  my  return  notices  of 
protested  paper  of  mine  to  the  amount  of  $6,000 
more;  and  not  less  than  seven  of  those  little 
tickets  which  bankers  send  out  to  give  notice  of 
notes  falling  due.  Now  it  is  not  agreeable  to  a 
man  who  has  hitherto  kept  his  commercial 
credit  unimpaired  thus  to  find  it  dishonored; 
and  it  is  still  more  displeasing  when  he  is  cursed 
all  over  the  State  for  not  doing  what  he  was 
powerless  to  accomplish,  and  it  is  right  you 
should  know  it."295 

In  language  equally  plain  he  then  proceeded 


204  SAMUEL  J.  KIRK  WOOD 

to  place  the  responsibility  for  lack  of  funds 
where  it  belonged.  "I  grew  pathetic  in  a  news 
paper  appeal  a  few  days  since,"  he  said,  "ask 
ing  you  to  subscribe  for  State  Bonds.  Now 
there  is  scarcely  a  man  of  you,  who  if  life,  limb 
or  property  were  at  stake,  could  not  take  $100  at 
least  of  Iowa  State  Bonds,  and  thus  furnish  the 
means  to  carry  on  this  work,  and  have  it  done 
right.~!Mi  And  let  me  say  plainly  —  though  as  a 
candidate  I  ought  not  to  talk  so  to  you  —  that, 
in  so  doing,  you  would  be  performing  your  duty, 
as  well  as  in  carping  and  fault-finding. 
I  ought  perhaps  to  make  handsome  vows,  speak 
soft  and  honied  words,  things  I  cannot  do;  but 
I  will  tell  you  the  truth  as  I  understand  and 
believe  it,  and  if  you  don't  like  it,  you  have  the 
remedy  in  your  own  hands,  you  know." 

Turning  from  personal  matters  to  the  con 
duct  of  the  war,  Governor  Kirkwood  eulogized 
the  Republican  party,  and  appealed  to  the  patri 
otism  of  his  hearers  by  referring  to  the  exploits 
of  Iowa  men  on  the  field  of  battle.  Especially 
did  he  elicit  rounds  of  applause  at  every  men 
tion  of  the  First  Iowa  Regiment,  which  had 
won  glory  in  the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek.  He 
had  been  in  Washington  when  the  news  of  that 
battle  was  received.  Before  that  time  he  had 
been  shown  but  little  respect  at  the  War  De 
partment.  But  when  the  news  came,  he  said, 
"every  man  who  saw  me  had  to  shake  hands 


WAR-TIME  CAMPAIGN  205 

with  me,  and  placing  my  hat  at  an  angle  of  45 
degrees,  I  stalked  through  the  building  as 
though  I  owned  it  —  and  they  let  me. ' ' 

This  memorable  speech  came  to  a  close  with 
an  admonition  to  the  audience  that  above  all 
the  welfare  of  the  Nation  should  be  their  first 
consideration.  With  characteristic  directness 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  delivered  his  message,  and 
then  with  good-natured  humor  and  simple  elo 
quence  partly  removed  the  sting  of  his  blunt 
remarks  and  stirred  the  hearts  of  his  listeners. 

The  election  was  held  on  the  second  Tuesday 
in  October.  When  the  votes  were  counted  it 
was  found  that  Mr.  Kirkwood  had  been  re- 
elected  to  the  office  of  Governor  of  Iowa  by  a 
majority  of  about  seventeen  thousand.297 


XVIII 

THE  FIRST  YEA  it  OF  THE  WAR 

WHILE  the  political  campaign  of  1861  was 
being-  fought  out  with  Imt  littlo  attention  from 
Governor  Kirkwood  lie  was  co])ing  with  diffi 
culties  such  as  have  never  confronted  another 
executive  of  Iowa.  The  inability  of  the  Federal 
government  to  provide  arms  and  equipment  for 
the  troops  as  rapidly  as  needed  continued  to  be 
a  cause  of  vexation,  and  the  Governor  was 
forced  to  endure  much  unjust  criticism  because 
of  the  delay. 

Even  when  guns  we're  received  they  proved  in 
some  instances  to  be  of  a  very  inferior  quality 
and  almost  useless  in  actual  warfare.  As  late 
as  January  12,  1862,  Governor  Kirkwood  re 
ceived  a  letter  from  his  nephew,  W.  AV.  Kirk- 
wood,  who  was  then  in  Benton  Barracks  at  St. 
Louis,  complaining  of  the  character  of  the  arms 
furnished  to  the  Iowa  troops.  To  show  the 
worthless  nature  of  these  guns  he  said  ''there 
was  one  to  my  certain  knowledge  Broken  by 
striking  it  lightly  across  a  pine  Box  the  barrel 
broke  entirely  off  in  two  places."  Other  guns 
burst  at  the  first  discharge,  and  in  fact  these 

206 


FIRST  YEAR  OF  WAR  207 

old-fashioned  muskets  were  more  dangerous  to 
the  men  who  carried  them  than  to  the  enemy.298 

Similar  reports  came  from  other  camps,  and 
it  added  much  to  Kirkwood's  worries  to  think 
of  Iowa  men  going  into  battle  with  such  in 
effective  weapons.  He  wrote  letter  after  letter 
to  government  officials  and  did  not  rest  content 
until  he  was  assured  that  better  equipment  had 
been  provided. 

Lack  of  money  was,  likewise,  a  serious  prob 
lem.  While  the  State  banks  throughout  Iowa 
and  men  of  wealth  in  this  State  and  else 
where299  generously  offered  to  advance  large 
sums,  the  Governor  knew  that  he  had  no  author 
ity  to  accept  these  offers  and  pledge  the  credit 
of  the  State  for  their  later  repayment.  The 
General  Assembly,  at  the  extra  session  in  May, 
1861,  as  has  been  noticed,  made  provision  for 
the  sale  of  $800,000  worth  -of  State  bonds  for 
the  purpose  of  creating  a  "War  and  Defense 
Fund".  But  unfortunately  no  appropriation 
was  made  out  of  the  ordinary  revenue  of  the 
State  to  meet  immediate  needs.  Thus  the 
financial  situation  remained  desperate.  Con 
trary  to  all  expectations  and  to  the  great 
chagrin  -of  Governor  Kirkwood  who  considered 
it  a  reflection  on  the  State,  the  bonds  did  not 
find  a  ready  market.  Consequently,  relief  from 
this  source  came  very  slowly. 

"I  very  much  regret  my  inability  to  furnish 


1>()8  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

you  at  this  time  with  funds  to  pay  the  note 
given  by  yourself  &  others  for  the  powder  pur 
chased  by  you  &  them  some  time  since  and 
taken  off  your  hands  by  the  State",  wrote 
Kirkwood  to  Samuel  F.  Miller  on  June  26th. 
"The  present  condition  of  our  finances  is  so 
painfully  familiar  to  me  that  it  seems  almost 
strange  that  it  should  not  be  familiar  to  every 
one.  .  .  .  The  proper  Board  has  authorized 
the  sale  of  Bonds  to  the  amount  of  $400,000 
which  will  be  for  sale  in  this  State  until  July  13 
at  private  sale  at  par  and  the  unsold  portion 
will  on  the  15th  July  be  awarded  to  the  highest 
A:  best  bidders  at  the  Metropolitan  Bank,  New 
York.  I  am  wholly  unable  to  say  what  portion 
will  sell  in  this  State  at  par  or  how  readily  and 
at  what  rate  the  bonds  will  sell  in  New  York, 
but  until  sold  there  or  here  I  must  remain  as  I 
have  been  heretofore  without  money  except  as 
I  can  borrow  it.":{"° 

Thus  it  was  that  appeals  to  the  Governor's 
office  for  money  with  which  to  buy  arms  and 
other  necessities  for  several  weeks  met  with  the 
same  reluctant  reply.  "You  ask  for  arms", 
wrote  Kirkwood 's  military  secretary  on  Sep 
tember  3,  1861.  "The  State  has  none  and  can 
get  none  for  want  of  means.  Our  bonds  do  not 
sell  at  home  or  abroad  &  until  they  do  no  arms 
can  be  purchased."''01  A  few  days  later  in 
reply  to  a  letter  of  Samuel  Merrill,  who  appar- 


FIRST  YEAR  OF  WAR  209 

ently  was  hoping  for  the  reimbursement  of 
money  which  he  had  advanced  to  clothe  Iowa 
troops,  the  military  secretary  told  of  the  per 
sonal  sacrifices  which  the  Governor  had  made. 
"He  has  no  money  at  command",  he  wrote, 
"and  is  himself  under  protest  for  a  large  amt. 
Belying  on  the  proceeds  of  sale  of  Bonds  he 
became  personally  responsible  for  more  than  he 
is  worth  and  as  his  reliance  failed  him  his  notes 
have  gone  to  protest.  He  has  been  to  Wash 
ington  to  get  some  of  the  State  expenses  re 
funded  and  expects  a  partial  paymt  within  30 
days  &  will  try  to  secure  you  a  share  of  it."302 
The  first  money  to  be  paid  into  the  State 
treasury  from  the  sale  of  bonds  was  received  on 
July  31st  and  then  the  amount  was  only  sixteen 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  On  August  2nd 
about  twenty  thousand  dollars  came  in,  and 
practically  the  same  amount  three  weeks  later. 
Thereafter  the  sums  received  at  irregular  inter 
vals  were  smaller,  and  by  the  first  of  November 
scarcely  more  than  eighty  thousand  dollars  had 
been  received.303  This  was  the  best  that  could 
be  done  in  spite  of  the  Governor's  stirring 
appeals  to  the  people  of  Iowa,304  and  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  bonds  bore  seven  percent 
interest,  were  backed  by  the  resources  of  a 
wealthy  State,  and  were  widely  advertised  by 
the  Governor  in  such  newspapers  as  the  New 
York  Tribune,  the  Chicago  Tribune,  the  Boston 

15 


210  SAMUEL  ,7.  KIKKWOOD 

7\;.s7,  and  the  Journal  of  Commerce?"*  It  is 
little  wonder  that  Kirkwood  felt  constrained  to 
toll  his  audience  some  very  plain  facts  in  his 
Sherman  Hall  spooch  in  September  and  to  place 
before  his  hearers  their  duty  in  the  matter  of 
buying  State  bonds/'10" 

It  has  boon  said  that  the  hesitancy  of  indi 
viduals  and  banking  institutions  to  take  these 
bonds  was  not  due  wholly  to  the  unsettled  con 
dition  of  the  times.  Knomios  of  the  govern 
ment,  both  in  Iowa  and  in  the  East,  according 
to  assertions  frequently  made,  circulated  insin 
uations  against  the  security  of  the  bonds  and 
caused  them  to  be  regarded  with  suspicion  in 
many  quarters/'5"7  But  whatever  the  cause,  the 
slowness  in  securing  funds  from  this  source 
seriously  handicapped  the  Governor  of  Iowa 
and  those  in  authority  with  him.  The  situation 
was  somewhat  relieved  about  the  middle  of 
October  when  the  United  States  government 
paid  eighty  thousand  dollars  into  the  State 
treasury.808 

Fortunately,  in  the  midst  of  new  and  untried 
duties  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  was  not  without  the 
advice  and  assistance  of  capable  and  loyal  men. 
As  military  secretary  he  chose  Nathan  Hoit 
Brainerd  of  Iowa  City,  a  man  possessing  the 
qualities  of  common  souses  calm  judgment,  and 
the  ability  to  express  his  strong  convictions  in 
clear  and  vigorous  language.  Although  he 


FIRST  YEAR  OF  WAR  211 

never  received  a  large  compensation  he  un 
falteringly  bore  his  full  share  of  the  burden  of 
correspondence  and  the  responsibilities  which 
the  war  entailed  upon  the  executive  office.  His 
ability  and  faithfulness  made  it  possible  for  the 
Governor  to  make  frequent  and  necessary  jour 
neys  away  from  home  with  the  full  knowledge 
that  the  affairs  'of  his  office  were  in  capable 
hands.309 

Equal  reliance  could  be  placed  by  Governor 
Kirkwood  upon  his  private  secretary,  although 
it  so  happened  that  several  men  occupied  this 
position  during  the  years  of  the  war  and  the 
duties  of  the  private  secretary  were  not  of  such 
importance  during  this  period  when  military 
affairs  were  the  first  consideration.  During  the 
summer  of  1861  the  private  secretary  was  John 
Pattee,  who  later  became  Lieutenant-Colonel  of 
the  Seventh  Iowa  Cavalry,  and  Brevet  Briga 
dier  General. 

Acting  upon  the  authority  granted  to  him  by 
the  legislature,  late  in  June  the  Governor 
appointed  as  his  four  regular  aids  John  Ed 
wards,  Cyrus  Bussey,  Bush  Clark,  and  Addison 
H.  Saunders.  Three  of  these  men  later  received 
high  recognition  for  their  bravery  on  the  field 
of  battle.  At  the  same  time  Kirkwood  chose 
three  special  aids  to  assist  him  in  enlisting  and 
equipping  troops.  One  of  these  special  aids 
was  William  B.  Allison,  who  then  as  always 


L>11>  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

was  ono  of  Kirkwood 's  staunches!  friends. 
Another  was  AY.  H.  Thompson  of  Linn  County; 
while  the  third  was  Nathaniel  B.  Baker,  who 
was  soon  to  be  placed  in  a  position  of  mndi 
greater  authority  and  responsibility. ::l" 

In  July  Adjutant  General  Jesse1  Bowen  re 
signed,  "with  the  thanks  of  the  PLxecutive  for 
liis  patriotism,  zeal  and  ability",'111  and  on  the 
twenty-fifth  his  place  was  given  by  Governor 
Kirkwood  to  Nathaniel  B.  Baker.  It  is  doubt 
ful  if  any  better  choice  could  possibly  have  been 
made.  ^\Ir.  Baker  had  been  a  life-long  Demo 
crat.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the  New 
Hampshire  legislature  and  Governor  of  that 
State  from  1854  to  1856.  In  the  General  As 
sembly  of  Iowa  during  the  special  session  he 
was  a  leader  in  securing  the  enactment  of  laws 
putting  the  State  on  a  war  footing.  To  the 
office  of  Adjutant  General  he  brought  un 
bounded  energy,  fine  executive  ability,  and  a 
sensitiveness  to  suffering  which  made  him 
always  zealous  in  his  efforts  to  guard  the  wel 
fare  of  the  Iowa  troops. -n- 

Governor  Kirkw'ood  was,  indeed,  very  for 
tunate  in  his  choice  of  men  to  render  him 
personal  assistance.  But  it  was  also  his  duty 
to  make  many  appointments  to  positions  in  the 
army;  and  while  the  men  lie  selected,  with  few 
exceptions,  proved  worthy  of  the  trust,  this 
duty  led  to  much  unpleasantness.  Ungratifiod 


FIRST  YEAR  OF  WAR  213 

ambition,  jealousy,  and  personal  animosity 
gave  rise  to  complaints  and  bitter  criticism. 

The  extent  of  the  Governor's  power  to  make 
military  appointments  was  clearly,  stated  by 
N.  H.  Brainerd  in  a  letter  written  early  in 
September.  "The  only  officers  appointed  by 
the  Gov.  are  the  field  &  medical  officers",  he 
said.  "All  Company  officers  are  elected  by  the 
Company  and  the  regimental  Staff  are  ap 
pointed  by  the  regimental  'officers."313  On  the 
same  day  he  answered  a  letter  urging  the  ap 
pointment  of  a  certain  man  by  the  brief  but 
pertinent  statement  that  the  Governor  "would 
be  glad  to  appoint  any  worthy  applicant  but  is 
limited  to  the  number  of  places  to  be  filled.  "314 

"I  have  not  said  or  done  any  thing  to  injure 
you",  said  Kirkwood  himself  in  a  four-page 
letter  to  one  who  was  disappointed  at  not  re 
ceiving  a  field  office.  ' '  I  have  only  decided  that 
in  my  judgment  I  found  better  men  for  the 
positions  I  had  to  fill.  I  must  be  permitted 
however  to  say  that  the  already  onerous  duties 
of  my  position  will  be  largely  increased  if  I  am 
compelled  to  make  explanations  as  lengthy  as 
this  to  all  whom  I  cannot  gratify  with  posi 
tions."315  The  mere  question  of  selecting  the 
best  men  among  the  large  number  of  applicants 
was  illustrated  in  the  reply  of  the  Governor  in 
April,  1862,  to  a  physician  of  Keokuk  County 
who  desired  an  appointment  as  surgeon. 


L>1 4  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

"There  are  at  this  time  five  places  to  fill",  lie 
said,  "four  of  which  are  under  a  law  just  passed 
by  the  general  assembly.  For  these  places  I 
have  just  fifty-four  applications  by  persons 
who  have  passed  the  Medical  Board  besides 
numerous  applications  from  others  who  are 
willing  to  go  and  be  examined  //  they  can  hare 
a  promise  before  they  ao  that  I  trill  appoint 
them  in  case  the  report  shall  be  farorable.  Now 
dont  you  'consider'  that  under  such  circum 
stances  it  requires  a  good  deal  of  'considera 
tion'  on  my  part  to  know  what  to  do  ?":nii 

Even  strong  personal  friendships  were  not 
always  proof  against  severe  strain  when  expec 
tations  of  appointment  or  promotion  were  not 
fulfilled.  Such  was  the  case  of  John  Edwards 
of  Chariton,  who,  as  has  been  seen,  was  one  of 
Kirkwood's  regular  aids.  It  seems  that  the 
Governor  had  promised  Edwards  the  colonelcy 
of  a  regiment,  but  through  some  misunder 
standing  with  the  War  Department  the  com 
mission  was  issued  to  Alexander  Chambers,  a 
regular  army  officer.  Keenly  disappointed  at 
this  unexpected  turn  in  affairs,  the  Governor 
was  only  too  happy  shortly  afterwards  to  offer 
Edwards  the  position  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  in 
the  Seventeenth  Infantry  Regiment,  of  which 
John  AY.  liankin  was  Colonel.  "Now  Colonel", 
he  wrote,  "for  God's  sake  and  my  sake  accept. 
I  feel  more  mortified  and  embarrassed  about 


FIRST  YEAR  OF  WAR  215 

your  position  than  I  have  ever  clone  about  any 
thing  in  my  life.  You  had  been  so  considerate, 
so  modest,  so  little  disposed  to  be  urgent  that  it 
was  a  pleasure  to  be  to  be  able  to  give  you  a 
commission  and  my  mortification  at  the  result 
so  mortifying  to  you  is  great.  Do  accept.  "317 
In  spite  of  many  long  letters  from  the  Gov 
ernor,  Edwards  refused  to  accept  the  position. 
Later,  however,  he  was  appointed  Oolonel  of 
the  Eighteenth  Infantry  Regiment,  and  gave 
such  evidence  of  his  valor  and  ability  that  he 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  and  position  of 
Brigadier  General. 

The  raising  and  equipping  of  troops  was  the 
duty  which  throughout  the  summer  and  autumn 
of  1861  claimed  the  Governor's  closest  atten 
tion.  On  June  llth  he  issued  a  proclamation 
informing  the  people  of  what  had  been  done, 
and  appealing  to  them  especially  to  be  prompt 
in  the  payment  of  taxes  in  order  that  the  State 
might  not  be  embarrassed  by  a  lack  of  ordinary 
revenue.  "I  have  been  induced  to  make  the 
foregoing  suggestions  in  this  manner ' ',  he  said, 
"because  of  my  belief  that  the  People  of  the 
State  would  cordially  co-operate  with  me  in  any 
honest,  prudent  endeavor  to  advance  the  public 
interest.  While  only  a  few  may  be  permitted 
to  endure  the  hardships  and  face  the  hazards  of 
the  camp,  and  to  meet  the  foe  in  the  shock  of 
battle,  each  citizen,  in  this  hour  of  our  National 


216  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

necessities  has  a  public  obligation  to  discharge, 
and  it  may  be  as  effectively  canceled  while  in 
the  prosecution  of  the  peaceful  pursuits  of 
industry,  as  at  the  most  hazardous  posts  of 
duty."318 

Another  proclamation  on  July  oOth  an 
nounced  that  the  Secretary  of  War  had  accepted 
four  additional  regiments  of  infantry  and  one 
of  cavalry  from  Iowa.  Some  of  the  companies 
were  not  yet  filled  to  the  strength  required  for 
United  States  service;  and  besides  the  term  of 
enlistment  of  the  three-months  men  in  the  First 
Iowa  Infantry  had  expired  and  a  new  regiment 
must  be  raised  to  take  its  place.  "The  recent 
misfortune  at  Manassas",  lie  warned  the  peo 
ple,  "demonstrates  that  the  contest  in  which  we 
are  engaged  is  one  requiring  neither  passion, 
excitement,  nor  unreasoning  and  blind  haste, 
but  rather  patience,  calmness,  organization. 
deliberation  and  fixed  determination.  ";!1!( 

The  case  of  the  First  Iowa  received  char 
acteristic  treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  Gov 
ernor.  This  regiment  had  made  a  proud  name 
for  itself  at  the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek,  and 
although  the  term  of  enlistment  of  its  members 
had  expired  he  refused  to  allow  the  regiment  to 
be  reorganized.  "My  reasons  were",  he  wrote, 
"that  the  good  name  &  fame  of  that  regiment 
was  the  propi'rhj  of  its  members  &  had  become 
a  part  of  the  history  &  property  of  this  State  - 


FIRST  YEAR  OF  WAR  217 

that  a  new  regiment  under  the  same  name  might 
tarnish  that  good  name  &  that  I  had  not  morally 
the  right  to  commit  its  keeping  to  new 
hands."320 

The  method  adopted  by  the  War  Department 
at  first  in  calling  for  troops  was  not  to  the 
liking  of  Governor  Kirkwood,  and  he  frankly 
stated  his  attitude  to  Secretary  Cameron.  "I 
would  much  prefer",  he  said,  "that  in  the 
future  all  troops  needed  from  this  State  for 
the  service  of  the  United  States  be  called  for  by 
regular  requisition  upon  the  Executive  of  the 
State,  unless  such  troops  shall  be  uniformed 
and  equipped  by  the  United  States  or  by  them 
selves.  I  will  endeavor  to  furnish  promptly  all 
troops  that  may  be  regularly  required  from  this 
State,  and  I  am  satisfied  it  will  save  much  com 
plication  and  unpleasant  feeling  here  to  have  all 
further  troops  furnished  upon  formal  requisi 
tion.  "  Not  long  afterward  he  received  a  reply 
assuring  him  that  in  the  future  his  wishes 
would  be  observed.321 

Again  on  September  10th  by  proclamation 
Kirkwood  made  an  appeal  for  additional  vol 
unteers.  "More  soldiers  are  required  for  the 
War",  was  his  challenge  to  the  patriotism  of 
his  people.  "Six  regiments  of  infantry  and 
two  of  cavalry,  composed  of  your  friends  and 
your  neighbors,  are  now  in  the  field.  Three 
more  regiments  of  infantry,  and  one  of  cav- 


1>18  SAMUKL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

airy,  composed  of  the  same  precious  materials, 
are  now  in  camp,  nearly  organized,  and  eager 
to  join  their  brothers  in  arms,  who  have  pre 
ceded  them,  and  still  four  more  regiments  are 
required.  .  .  .  Remember  they  will  not 
fight  for  themselves  alone.  It  is  your  cause,  as 
well  as  theirs,  in  which  they  are  engaged.  It  is 
the  cause  of  government,  of  home,  of  country, 
of  freedom,  of  humanity,  of  (iod  himself.  It  is 
in  this  righteous  cause  that  I  now  call  upon  the 
manhood  and  patriotism  of  the  State  for  a 
cordial  and  hearty  response.  The  gallant 
achievements  of  our  noble  Iowa  first,  have  be 
stowed  upon  our  State  an  unperishable  renown. 
Wherever  fortitude  is  appreciated,  and  valor 
recognized,  as  the  attributes  of  a  brave  and 
great  hearted  people,  the  Iowa  volunteer  is  now 
greeted  with  pride  and  applause.  "::— 

The  writing  of  appeals  for  volunteers,  how 
ever,  was  the  smallest  item  in  Kirkwood's 
activities  in  connection  with  the  raising  of 
troops.  He  made  trips  to  various  parts  of 
Iowa  and  to  eastern  cities,  held  numerous  con 
ferences,  and  conducted  a  very  heavy  cor 
respondence.  Burdens  of  a  similar  nature 
rested  upon  the  Governors  of  all  the  northern 
States.  It  was  in  December,  1861,  that  an  inter 
esting  proposal  was  made  by  Governor  Alex 
ander  W.  Randall  of  Wisconsin.  "It  seems  to 
me", .he  wrote,  "that  the  large  amount  of  labor 


FIRST  YEAR  OF  WAR  219 

and  responsibility  thrown  upon  the  Executives 
of  the  several  states  during  the  past  season, 
entitles  them  to  some  consideration  at  the 
hands  of  Congress.  In  all  cases  where  forces 
enough  have  been  sent  from  any  State  to  entitle 
the  State  to  an  appointment  of  Major  General, 
the  Governor  ought  to  be  paid  the  compensa 
tion  of  a  Major  General.  In  all  other  cases  to 
be  paid  the  compensation  of  a  Brigadier  Gen 
eral.  ...  I  propose  that  we  make  common 
cause  with  our  members  of  Congress  to  favor 
such  an  act.";!~n 

Whatever  may  have  been  Governor  Kirk- 
wood's  reply  to  the  author  of  this  proposal,  his 
attitude  was  expressed  in  a  letter  to  Senator 
Grimes  on  December  29th.  He  admitted  that 
the  loyal  Governors  might  with  propriety  hope 
for  more  adequate  recognition  of  their  arduous 
services  in  behalf  of  the  General  Government. 
"But  the  Govt  needs  all  its  money  &  more,"  he 
said,  "and  there  are  other  better  uses  to  which 
to  put  the  money.  I  am  painfully  impressed 
with  the  conviction  that  our  regiments  have  not 
enough  medical  aid,  and  I  would  much  rather 
Congress  would  give  an  additional  assistant 
surgeon  to  each  regiment  from  Iowa  than  any 
pay  to  its  Governor."324 


XIX 

MESSAGE  AND  INAUGURAL  OF  18(5- 

THE  Ninth  General  Assembly  of  Iowa  convened 
in  regular  session  at  Des  Moines  on  Monday, 
January  13,  1862;  and  once  more  it  was  neces 
sary  for  Governor  Kirkwood  to  spend  most  of 
his  days  in  the  executive  office  in  the  capitol  at 
Des  Moines.  Again  it  was  his  duty  to  com 
municate  to  the  legislature  his  views  concerning 
needed  legislation  and  to  deliver  another  in 
augural  address,  for  this  was  the  beginning  of 
his  second  term  as  Governor. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  session  the  biennial 
message  was  read  in  both  houses  of  the  legis 
lature.  Attention  was  first  called  to  the  vital 
subject  of  revenue  and  taxation.  The  expend 
itures  for  all  State  purposes  during  the  pre 
ceding  two  years,  lie  said,  amounted  to  about 
$:}00,()00  annually.  Hut  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  government  had  boon  economically  admin 
istered,  the  finances  of  the  State  were  not  in  'ka 
healthy  condition".  The  Auditor's  report  re 
vealed  the  startling  fact  that  taxes  for  18(>0  and 
the  years  immediately  preceding,  to  the  amount 
of  $400,000,  still  remained  delinquent  and  mi- 


MESSAGE  AND  INAUGURAL  221 

paid;  while  warrants  to  the  extent  of  over 
$100,000  were  outstanding.  "From  these 
facts",  he  continued,  "the  following  conclusions 
are  inevitable:  1st,  That  during  the  last  four 
years  there  has  been  levied  a  State  tax  larger 
by  about  $300,000  than  the  necessities  of  the 
State  required.  2d,  That  this  was  rendered 
necessary  by  the  fact  that  only  a  portion  of  our 
people  paid  the  tax  due  the  State.  3d,  That  the 
State  has  been  compelled  yearly  to  pay  large 
sums  by  way  of  interest  on  warrants,  which 
need  not  have  been  paid  had  the  taxes  been  col 
lected  promptly,  and  the  Treasury  kept  sup 
plied  with  funds  to  meet  all  demands  upon  it. 
4th,  That  the  State  being  compelled  to  purchase 
its  supplies  with  warrants  has  had  to  pay 
higher  prices  than  if  it  had  had  the  cash  to  pay. 
5th,  That  the  tax-paying  portion  of  our  people 
have  thus  been  compelled  to  pay  not  only  their 
proper  share  of  the  public  burthens,  but  also 
the  share  of  those  who  did  not  pay  their  taxes, 
increased  by  interest  and  high  prices." 

A  revision  of  the  revenue  laws  was  therefore 
recommended.  Two  features  were  especially 
suggested,  namely,  the  "imposition  of  such 
penalty  for  the  non-payment  of  taxes  when  due, 
as  will  make  it  unmistakably  the  interest  of 
every  tax-payer  to  pay  promptly";  and  the 
"assurance  to  the  purchaser  of  property  at  a 
tax  sale,  of  a  valid  title  at  the  expiration  of  a 
fixed  time." 


±>1>  SAMUEL  ,T.  KIRKWOOD 

The  problem  of  revenue  and  taxation,  more 
over,  was  complicated  by  the  probability  that 
the  State  would  be  asked  that  year  to  contribute 
a  tax  of  between  $600,000  and  $700,000  to  aid 
the  Federal  government  in  paying  the  interest 
on  its  enormous  and  rapidly-growing  debt.  It 
would  be  necessary  for  the  legislature  to  pro 
vide  some  plan  to  meet  this  situation.  County 
officials  should  also  be  given  additional  duties 
and  responsibilities  in  the  matter  of  taxation, 
since  out  of  every  $5.66  of  taxes  paid  by  the 
people  only  one  dollar  reached  the  State  treas 
ury,  while  the  remainder  was  used  for  local 
purposes.  Economy  and  accountability  in  local 
expenditures  were  urgently  required.  The  pay 
ment  of  taxes,  the  Governor  believed,  would  be 
facilitated  if  United  States  treasury  notes  and 
notes  of  the  State  banks  of  Iowa  were  to  be 
made  receivable  at  par,  instead  of  confining 
payment  entirely  to  specie. ::-r> 

Military  affairs  were  next  discussed.  Sixteen 
regiments  of  infantry,  four  of  cavalry,  three 
batteries  of  artillery,  and  one  independent 
company  of  cavalry  for  frontier  service  had 
already  been  raised  in  Iowa,  and  two  more  regi 
ments  of  infantry  were  at  that  time  being  re 
cruited.  After  recounting  the  difficulties  met 
in  the  sale  of  State  bonds,  Kirkwood  recom 
mended  that  the  legislature  give  careful  con 
sideration  to  some  plan  for  providing  more 


MESSAGE  AND  INAUGURAL  223 

adequate  funds  for  the  equipment  of  Iowa 
troops.  Additional  medical  attendants  were 
badly  needed,  and  he  urged  that  provision  be 
made  for  nurses  and  assistant  surgeons.  Some 
changes  were  also  needed  in  the  militia  law.320 

Turning  to  the  subject  of  school  and  univer 
sity  funds,  the  Governor  urged  that  these  funds 
be  adequately  protected  from  future  loss  and 
mismanagement.  "I  am  decidedly  of  opinion", 
was  his  interesting  suggestion  with  regard  to 
the  State  University,  "that  not  only  the  interest 
of  the  institution,  but  also  the  interest  of  the 
State  requires  that  you  should  provide  a  Mili 
tary  Department  of  the  University,  and  should 
establish  a  Military  Professorship  therein. 
The  sad  experience  of  the  last  few  months,  has 
shown  us  the  necessity  of  military  knowledge 
among  our  people."327 

The  needs  of  the  penitentiary  and  the  char 
itable  institutions,  measures  for  the  promotion 
of  agriculture,  and  the  situation  with  regard  to 
the  Federal  land  grants  in  Iowa  all  received 
due  consideration.  "The  year  which  has  just 
closed,"  said  the  Governor  in  conclusion,  "has 
brought  to  our  people  a  new  experience,  new 
trials,  new  responsibilities,  and  new  duties. 
Let  us  continue  to  meet  them  as  we  have  thus 
far  met  them,  with  neither  an  overweening  con 
fidence  in,  and  reliance  upon,  our  own  strength, 
nor  an  unmanly  and  craven  fear  for  ourselves, 


224  SAMUEL  J.  KIHKWOOI) 

or  of  the  hardships  we  may  endure  before  we 
win  by  deserving  success,  but  with  patience, 
calmness,  unflinching  courage,  and  an  abiding- 
faith  in  God.":!1>s 

Shortly  after  noon  on  the  following  day  a 
joint  committee  of  the  legislature  waited  upon 
Mr.  Kirkwood  and  informed  him  that  the  votes 
had  been  canvassed,  that  he  had  been  declared 
elected  Governor  of  Iowa,  and  that  the  joint 
convention  was  in  readiness  for  the  inaugura 
tion.  Thereupon,  accompanied  by  the  Lieuten 
ant  Governor,  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  the  other  State  officers,  he  made  his 
way  to  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
The  oath  of  office  was  administered  by  Chief 
Justice  Caleb  Baldwin,  and  "His  Excellency 
addressed  the  Joint  Convention"/1-0 

Eloquently  Kirkwood  portrayed  the  events 
leading  up  to  the  war,  the  causes  of  the  great 
struggle,  and  the  situation  in  which  the  govern 
ment  then  found  itself.  Especially  did  he 
lament  the  apparent  tendency  in  the  North  to 
feel  that  in  some  way  the  South  must  still  be 
assured  the  continuance  of  the  institution  of 
slavery.  There  was  a  lack  of  unity  of  purpose 
and  action.  "It  may  be  said  that  if  we  pro 
claim  freedom  to  slaves  of  rebel  masters, 
Slavery  must  suffer  and  may  be  extinguished", 
lie  declared,  "I  reply:  So  be  it.  The  friends  of 
Slavery  have  in  its  supposed  interest  thrust 


MESSAGE  AND  INAUGURAL  225 

this  war  with  all  its  evils  upon  the  country,  and 
upon  them  and  upon  it  be  the  consequences.  It 
may  be  said  the  slaves  of  loyal  masters  will 
escape,  and  thus  loyal  men  will  suffer  loss." 
While  the  latter  result  would  be  regretted  it 
should  not  be  a  deterrent  influence,  since  the 
interest  of  many  individuals  must  necessarily 
suffer  in  the  midst  of  such  a  conflict. 

"I  will  not  be  misunderstood",  the  speaker 
continued.  '  *  This  war  is  waged  by  our  Govern 
ment  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  and  not 
for  the  extinction  of  Slavery,  unless  the  pres 
ervation  of  the  one  shall  require  the  extinction 
of  the  other.  If  the  war  were  so  prosecuted 
that  on  to-morrow  the  preservation  of  the 
Union  were  effected  and  secured,  I  would  not 
now  wage  the  war  another  day.  I  would  not 
now  spend  further  treasure  or  further  life  to 
effect  the  extinction  of  Slavery,  although  I 
might  regret  that  the  war  of  its  own  producing 
had  left  in  it  enough  of  life  to  leave  it  to  be  our 
bane  and  pest  in  the  future  as  it  has  been  in  the 
past.  But  while  this  is  true,  it  is  also  true  that 
if  I  had  the  power  on  to-morrow  to  end  this 
terrible  strife  and  preserve  our  Union  by  the 
extinction  of  Slavery,  while  to  preserve  both 
would  require  a  month's,  or  a  week's,  or  a 
day's,  or  an  hour's  further  war;  the  spending 
of  a  single  additional  dollar  or  the  loss  of  a 
single  additional  life;  so  surely  as  the  Lord 
lives,  this  War  would  close  to-morrow." 

16 


L>26  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

There  was  every  indication  now,  lie  said,  that 
the  war  would  be  a  long,  hard  struggle.  This 
would  mean  that  the  people  of  Iowa  must  bear 
many  burdens.  "Life  is  valuable,  but  it  is 
intended  to  be  useful;  and  how  can  any  one 
make  his  life  more  useful  than  by  giving  it  for 
his  country  ?"  There  would  also  be  heavy 
taxes  to  pay.  "We  must  give  up  the  idea  of 
money  making  to  a  great  extent  until  this  war 
is  over.  We  must  be  content  to  devote  to  the 
preservation  of  the  country  a  portion  of  all  the 
surplus  we  have  been  accustomed  to  lay  up  in 
years  gone  by.  We  may  be  required  to  return 
to  customs  and  expedients  for  many  years 
abandoned."  All  these  facts  must  be  squarely 
faced  with  the  firm  determination  that  at  any 
cost  the  Union  must  be  preserved.  Although 
all  its  policies  might  not  meet  witli  approval 
the  administration  at  Washington  must  be 
loyally  supported." *" 

This  address,  so  outspoken  and  uncompro 
mising,  did  not  fail  to  attract  attention.  From 
Washington,  D.  C.,  came  a  letter  of  enthusi 
astic  thanks.  "It  has  received  the  most  flat 
tering  commendation  from  prominent  men 
here",  said  the  writer  .  "Would  to  God  the 
administration  was  thoroughly  imbued  with 
your  views,  and  would  act  on  them."331  A  few 
weeks  later  there  was  received  from  far-away 
Denmark  a  twelve-page  communication  from 


MESSAGE  AND  INAUGURAL  227 

one  who  was  apparently  a  rabid  socialist,  dis 
approving  of  the  address  at  every  point.332 

These  were  days  of  gloom  and  foreboding 
throughout  the  North.  Only  a  few  compara 
tively  unimportant  victories  had  thus  far 
favored  the  Union  arms.  Indecision,  ineffi 
ciency,  and  delay  seemed  everywhere  to  prevail, 
and  the  prospect  was  very  dark.  Even  Gov 
ernor  Kirkwood,  with  all  his  optimism,  was  at 
times  very  downhearted,  although  he  never  con 
fided  his  fears  except  to  his  most  intimate 
friends.333 

Such  was  the  situation  on  the  morning  of 
February  17,  1862.  In  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives  at  Des  Moines  a  filibuster  was  in 
progress  over  some  very  inconsequential  mat 
ter.  The  chief  clerk,  Charles  Aldrich,  had 
called  the  roll  until  his  head  ached,  and  was 
just  in  the  midst  of  the  last  roll  call  when  Frank 
W.  Palmer,  the  State  Printer,  entered  the  hall 
"in  a  manner  betokening  intense  excitement." 
He  made  his  way  quickly  around  the  side  of  the 
room  and  up  to  the  Speaker's  desk.  "In  an 
instant,  the  Speaker,  Hon.  Rush  Clark,  of 
Johnson  County,  sprang  to  his  feet,  in  the  very 
midst  of  the  roll-call,  shouting  at  the  top  of  his 
voice,  'Gen.  Grant  has  captured  Fort  Donel- 
son!'  A  rousing  scene  ensued.  "The  mem 
bers  sprang  to  their  feet  with  the  wildest  cheers 
and  hurrahs  that  ever  woke  the  echoes  of  the 


228  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Old  Capitol  building.  The  contemptible  little 
political  squabble  was  as  completely  forgotten 
as  though  it  had  happened  in  some  ante-diluvian 
time,  and  the  members  went  fairly  wild,  hug 
ging  each  other,  shaking  hands,  cheering,  and 
in  every  possible  manner  giving  way  to  expres 
sions  of  extravagant  delight." 

Leaving  the  capitol  building,  by  common  con 
sent  the  legislators  gathered  around  the  board 
at  the  old  Des  Moiiies  House,  where  the  hilarity 
continued  unabated,  aided  it  must  be  confessed 
in  many  cases  by  the  drinking  of  much  liquor. 
Among  the  speakers  was  Governor  Kirkwood, 
whose  joy  over  the  victory  was  as  great  as  that 
of  anyone,  and  he  made  a  speech  which  was 
long  remembered  —  a  speech  in  which  he  gave 
free  vent  to  his  feeling  of  resentment  against 
England  because  of  the  Trent  affair.:{;{4 

The  elation  over  the  victory  was  tempered  on 
the  morrow,  however,  when  it  was  learned  at 
what  fearful  cost  in  men  the  fort  had  been  won. 
There  was  mourning  in  many  Iowa  homes  when 
the  death-list  came  in.  To  Governor  Kirkwood 
it  was  a  source  of  solemn  pride  that  the  Second 
Iowa  Regiment  had  played  so  conspicuous  a 
part  in  the  assault.  Shortly  before  in  St.  Louis 
that  regiment  had  been  publicly  disgraced. 
Because  of  alleged  acts  of  vandalism  on  the 
part  of  a  few  of  its  members,  the  whole  regi 
ment  had  been  ordered,  by  General  Schuyler 


MESSAGE  AND  INAUGURAL  229 

Hamilton,  to  march  through  the  streets  of  St. 
Louis  with  flag's  furled  and  without  music  when 
it  was  embarking  to  take  its  place  in  the  lines 
around  Fort  Donelson.  Governor  Kirkwood 
had  indignantly  returned  the  copy  of  the  order 
which  had  been  sent  to  him  by  General  Hamil 
ton,  and  had  vigorously  protested  against  the 
injustice  of  the  order  to  General  Halleck  and 
'others.335 

But  now  the  stigma  on  the  good  name  of  the 
Second  Iowa  was  forever  removed.  "The  flag 
that  our  2d  Regt  could  not  carry  open  through 
the  streets  of  St.  Louis",  he  wrote  to  General 
Hamilton  on  March  20th,  "they  did  carry 
proudly  through  the  storm  of  battle  at  Fort 
Donelson  and  planted  first  of  all  others  on  the 
entrenchments  of  that  stronghold  of  treason. 
It  now  hangs  over  the  chair  of  the  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  and  will  soon  be 
deposited  among  the  most  sacred  treasures  of 
our  State  in  our  State  Historical  Society.  I  am 
content  that  what  I  have  done  in  connection 
with  it,  shall  be  so  written,  that  all  who  see  it 
may  read  the  record.  The  l miscreants'  of 
whom  your  order  speaks  either  died  in  uphold 
ing  it  on  that  bloody  day  or  helped  carry  it 
over  the  entrenchments."336 


XX 

THE  GOVERNOR  AND  His  SOLDIERS 

THE  adjournment  of  the  General  Assembly 
again  left  Governor  Kirkwood  free  to  devote 
his  time  and  energies  almost  exclusively  to 
military  affairs.  His  signal  success  in  this  con 
nection  during  the  succeeding  two  years  gave 
him  a  prominent  place  among  the  loyal  execu 
tives  of  the  northern  Commonwealths,  and 
made  him  one  of  the  best  loved  men  in  Iowa. 

The  first  concern  of  the  Governor  and  his 
military  staff  was  to  see  that  Iowa  furnished 
its  full  quota  of  men,  and  to  see  that  they  were 
properly  trained,  equipped  and  cared  for,  and 
dispatched  in  due  time  to  the  scene  of  con 
flict.337  On  July  2,  1862,  there  went  out  from 
Washington  the  call  for  three  hundred  thou 
sand  more  troops  to  be  enlisted  for  a  period  of 
three  years,  Iowa's  quota  being  over  ten  thou 
sand.33  "The  Eighteenth  Iowa  Infantry  is 
rapidly  organizing",  was  Kirkwood 's  message 
to  President  Lincoln  three  days  later.  "Shall 
have  it  ready  in  about  thirty  days.  Our  har 
vesting  prevents  rapid  recruiting  just  now. 
Iowa  will  do  her  duty.  She  has  furnished 

230 


GOVERNOR  AND  SOLDIERS  231 

already  seventeen  regiments  of  infantry,  five 
regiments  of  cavalry,  and  three  batteries  of 
artillery."339  Shortly  afterward  he  wrote  that 
"we  have  scarcely  men  enough  to  save  our 
crops,  but  if  need  be  our  women  can  help."340 

Another  call  for  three  hundred  thousand  men 
was  issued  on  August  4th,  but  in  this  case  the 
enlistment  was  to  be  for  a  period  of  only  nine 
months.  Governor  Kirkwood  refused  to  enlist 
men  for  so  short  a  service.  He  believed  that 
it  would  be  a  shortsighted  policy  to  permit 
terms  of  enlistment  to  expire  just  at  the  time 
when  the  men  so  enlisted  had  gained  the  train 
ing  and  experience  required  to  make  them  effec 
tive  as  soldiers.  Happily,  the  people  of  Iowa 
were  of  the  same  mind  with  the  Governor.  In 
fact  the  response  to  the  previous  call  was  so 
enthusiastic  that  there  was  no  need  to  ask  for 
enlistments  under  the  call  of  August  4th; 
although  men  were  still  needed  to  fill  the  many 
vacancies  in  the  old  regiments. 

"So  many  troops  have  offered  that  we  have 
not  blankets  to  enable  us  to  put  them  in  quar 
ters",  was  the  message  sent  by  Governor  Kirk- 
wood  to  the  War  Department  on  August  16th. 
"Tell  me  what  I  shall  do  with  over  100  com 
panies  of  volunteers  above  the  50  under  the 
300,000  call  for  volunteers",  demanded  Ad 
jutant  General  Baker  four  days  later.841  On 
the  same  day  the  Governor  made  the  following 
appeal  to  Secretary  Stanton: 


232  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

First.  Tliere  are  companies  now  full  and  that  will 
be  filled  by  the  2:Jd  to  fill  eighteen  to  twenty  regi 
ments.  Our  whole  State  appears  to  be  volunteering. 
Second.  The  companies  are  now  coming  into  rendez 
vous  as  rapidly  as  J  can  furnish  blankets  for  them. 
Could  have  them  all  in  next  week  if  1  had  blankets 
and  could  build  quarters  fast  enough.  Have  blankets 
for  only  five  regiments.  Third.  I  don't  want  any 
further  time  than  the  23d.  All  1  want  is  to  put  intj 
regiments  all  the  companies  full  on  that  day.  If  1 
don't  get  this  permission  I  will  have  to  volunteer 
myself  and  leave  the  State.-0'4'2 

Thus  the  quotas  assigned  to  Iowa  under  the 
two  calls  of  the  summer  of  1862  were  filled  by 
volunteers  within  a  surprisingly  short  time. 
But  the  raising  of  men  to  fill  the  gaps  in  the 
ranks  of  the  old  regiments  was  a  more  difficult 
matter.  About  eight  thousand  men  were  needed 
for  this  purpose.  In  July  the  Governor  wrote 
to  General  Halleck,  suggesting  that  recruiting- 
officers  should  be  sent  to  the  localities  where  the 
companies  of  the  old  regiments  were  originally 
raised,  since  men  would  enlist  more  readily  if 
assured  that  they  would  be  among  friends  and 
acquaintances.343  "I  am  satisfied  the  old  regi 
ments  cannot  be  filled  by  voluntary  enlistments 
either  in  this  State  or  in  the  North  West",  lie 
wrote  to  Secretary  Stanton  a  month  later. 
"The  stimulus  of  nearly  forty  commissions  in 
each  regiment  is  wanting.  In  my  judgment  a 


GOVERNOR  AND  SOLDIERS  233 

draft  to  fill  the  old  regiments  will  be  necessary. 
Had  it  not  better  be  ordered  by  you  at  once  and 
thus  save  much  valuable  time  —  Such  is  my  de 
cided  opinion."  In  case  a  draft  should  be 
ordered  he  asked  permission  to  discriminate 
between  counties,  in  order  that  no  additional 
burden  might  fall  on  those  counties  which  had 
already  furnished  more  than  their  share  of 
men.344 

An  appeal  to  the  people  of  Iowa  for  troops 
to  fill  up  the  old  regiments  was  issued  by  Kirk- 
wood  on  August  20th.  He  explained  that  while 
Iowa  had  furnished  more  volunteers  than  had 
been  requested  by  the  Federal  government,  the 
War  Department  declined  to  credit  the  State 
with  this  excess  until  the  old  regiments  were 
filled.  "I  appeal  then  to  every  man  for  aid", 
he  said.  "Let  everything  else  be  laid  aside, 
until  this  needed  work  is  done.  Let  the  young 
men  whose  brothers  and  friends  are  in  our  old 
regiments  take  their  places  by  their  sides. " 
If  the  deficiency  were  not  soon  supplied  by  vol 
unteering,  it  would  be  necessary  to  resort  to  a 
draft.345  In  fact  drafting  commissioners  were 
appointed  and  all  the  machinery  was  provided 
for  putting  conscription  into  operation. 

About  the  middle  of  September  the  Governor 
issued  a  circular  to  these  commissioners,  in 
forming  them  that  there  were  enough  volun 
teers  to  fill  Iowa's  quotas  for  new  regiments. 


234  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Thus,  to  avoid  a  draft  it  was  only  necessary  to 
fill  the  old  regiments.  "  Still  the  danger  of  a 
draft  is  imminent.  The  order  may  reach  me  on 
any  day  to  commence  the  draft  to  fill  the  regi 
ments.  You  will  therefore  perfect  all  your 
arrangements  for  the  draft.  Have  everything 
done  that  is  required  of  you  by  the  instructions 
heretofore  sent  you,  so  that  you  will  be  able  to 
commence  the  draft  in  one  day's  notice,  and 
await  such  further  instructions  as  may  be  sent 
you."340 

The  possibility  of  a  draft  hung  over  the 
people  of  Iowa  through  the  remaining  months 
of  the  year  1862  and  throughout  the  succeeding 
year.  Firm  in  his  determination  that  compul 
sory  measures  should  be  adopted  whenever 
volunteering  should  fail  to  produce  the  required 
men,  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  was  made  the  target 
for  much  bitter  criticism.  But  it  so  happened 
that  the  resort  to  conscription  was  not  neces 
sary  in  Iowa  until  after  he  had  ceased  to  be 
Governor  of  the  Commonwealth.347  His  own 
outspoken  loyalty  and  untiring  activity  was  a 
potent  influence  in  accomplishing  this  result. 

Kirkwood  did  not  rest  content,  however, 
when  the  men  had  been  enlisted  and  mustered 
into  service.  No  parent  or  relative  could  have 
been  more  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  the  Iowa 
soldiers,  individually  or  collectively.  "Say  to 
the  bovs  one  and  all  I  am  delighted  with  them", 


GOVERNOR  AND  SOLDIERS  235 

he  wrote  to  an  Iowa  officer  in  May,  1862,  "and 
expect  to  hear  further  from  them  in  the  next 
battle.  I  am  fearful  in  regard  to  their  health. 
I  hope  you  will  insist  upon  the  line  officers  giv 
ing  personal  attention  to  every  thing  that  may 
prevent  sickness."348 

Late  in  August  he  sent  out  an  appeal  through 
the  press  for  supplies  for  the  Iowa  troops. 
"Your  relatives,  your  friends,"  he  said,  "those 
who  by  blood  and  home  associations  are  dear  to 
many  of  you,  those  whose  generous  sacrifices 
for  the  good  of  our  common  country  should 
endear  them  to  all,  are  suffering  in  camp  on  a 
distant  soil,  from  the  want  of  some  of  the  neces 
saries  of  healthy  life.  .  .  .  The  season  is  at 
hand  when  vegetable  matter  is  indispensable 
for  health.  Scurvy,  the  dread  of  the  soldier; 
and  the  diseases  incident  to  approaching 
autumn,  demand  that  a  full  supply  should  be 
soon  on  hand  ready  for  distribution."  Pota 
toes,  onions,  tomatoes,  beets,  poultry,  butter, 
eggs,  and  fruit  were  especially  desired,  as  well 
as  articles  of  clothing.349 

Believing  that  the  needs  of  the  soldiers  de 
manded  immediate  and  more  adequate  atten 
tion,  the  Governor  called  the  General  Assembly 
to  meet  in  special  session  on  September  3,  1862. 
On  the  opening  day  his  message  was  read  before 
both  houses.  He  urged  legislation  for  the  bet 
ter  care  of  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  and  for 

\ 


236  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

their  return  to  their  homes  on  furlough.  More 
help  was  greatly  needed  in  the  Adjutant  Gen 
eral's  office  and  the  compensation  of  that  busy 
officer  should  be  increased.  In  order  that 
vacancies  in  the  old  regiments  should  be  filled 
as  they  occurred  he  urged,  first,  that  a  camp  of 
instruction  should  be  established  within  the 
State,  and  second,  that  provision  should  be 
made  for  the  payment  of  bounties  to  persons 
enlisting  in  these  regiments. 

Especially  did  Governor  Kirkwood  recom 
mend  the  passage  of  a  law  enabling  the  soldiers 
to  vote.  "The  very  life  of  the  Nation  is  at 
stake,"  he  declared,  "and  may  be  as  fatally 
lost  at  the  ballot  box  as  on  the  battle  field. 
Under  such  circumstances  it  is  not  only  the 
right  but  the  duty  of  all  good  citizens  to  exer 
cise  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  to  see  to  it  that 
the  principles  for  the  preservation  of  which  our 
people  are  so  freely  offering  treasure  and  life, 
are  not  jeopardized  or  lost  in  the  Halls  of  Leg 
islation,  State  or  National.  A  very  large 
number  of  the  electors  of  the  State  are  in  the 
army.  .  .  .  Under  existing  laws  these  citi 
zens  can  not  vote,  and  unless  these  laws  can  be 
changed  it  may  be  that  the  cause  they  are  peril 
ing  life  in  the  field  to  maintain,  may  be  lost  at 
home  through  supineness  or  treachery.  I  there 
fore  recommend  that  the  laws  be  so  modified 
that  all  members  of  Iowa  regiments  who  would 


GOVERNOR  AND  SOLDIERS  237 

be  entitled  to  vote  if  at  home  on  the  day  of 
election,  be  allowed  to  vote  wherever  they  may 
be  stationed  in  the  United  States,  and  that  pro 
vision  be  made  for  receiving  and  canvassing 
their  votes.7'350 

Practically  all  of  these  recommendations 
were  followed  by  the  legislature.  Laws  were 
enacted  which  strengthened  the  hands  of  the 
Governor  and  made  it  possible  for  Iowa  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  great  conflict  more  efficiently. 

During  the  months  which  followed  Governor 
Kirkwood  wrote  hundreds  of  letters  in  the  in 
terests  of  the  Iowa  troops.  Sometimes  it  was 
an  appeal  on  behalf  of  some  individual  soldier. 
"Nicholas  Russell  a  private  in  Capt.  Robin 
son's  Co  in  your  regiment  is  said  by  his  father 
to  be  unfit  for  service",  he  wrote  to  an  Iowa 
officer  early  in  December.  "He  is  at  Rolla. 
His  mother  is  much  distressed  about  him- 
says  he  can  do  nothing  there  but  die  —  she 
wants  him  home.  .  .  .  Please  give  this  mat 
ter  special  attention  and  by  so  doing  much 
oblige  me."351 

His  great  solicitude  was  to  be  sure  that 
everything  possible  was  done  to  prevent  sick 
ness  among  the  troops  and  to  provide  adequate 
care  for  the  sick  and  wounded.  "I  at  times 
feel  almost  disheartened  in  regard  to  sanitary 
affairs",  he  confessed  in  November.  "There 
seems  to  be  so  much  jealousy  and  ill  will  among 


238  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

those  engaged  in  the  matter  that  it  discourages 
me  and  will  I  fear  discourage  those  who  have 
been  contributing  so  liberally  for  this  pur 
pose.  ";ir>2  To  the  surgeon  of  the  First  Iowa 
Cavalry  he  wrote:  "I  need  not  impress  on  you 
the  necessity  of  doing  all  that  can  be  done  for 
our  brave  boys.  Let  me  say  one  thing  —  Don't 
let  them  lack  for  any  thing.  Red  tape  or  no  red 
tape  see  they  have  all  they  need."1'1™ 

In  March,  1863,  Kirkwood  wrote  to  General 
Halleck  urging  that  provision  be  made  for  the 
discharge  of  permanently  disabled  soldiers, 
and  for  the  return  to  Iowa  of  many  others  who 
needed  rest  and  medical  treatment.  It  was  his 
belief  that  many  men  died  in  hospitals  in  the 
South  who  could  be  saved  at  home:554  "Please 
send  me  by  express  fifteen  hundred  dollars  of 
extra  contingent  fund",  he  wrote  to  the  Auditor 
of  State  at  about  this  time.  "The  sickness  of 
our  soldiers  is  making  heavy  drafts  on  me.  If  I 
have  got  down  to  the  appropriation  at  the  extra 
session  get  this  approved  by  the  Census  Board 
-  I  want  it  immediately. >>3M  In  June  he  wrote 
a  long  letter  to  Secretary  Stanton  relative  to 
the  care  of  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  lie 
insisted  that  the  Iowa  men  should  be  brought  to 
Kookuk,  whore  there  were  between  1000  and 
1500  vacant  beds.  Later  he  made  an  urgent 
appeal  to  General  Grant/'550 

Kirkwood 's  activities  in  behalf  of  the  welfare 


GOVERNOR  AND  SOLDIERS  239 

of  the  troops  did  not  stop  with  the  writing  of 
letters,  nor  did  he  base  his  knowledge  solely  on 
the  evidence  of  others.  He  made  many  personal 
visits  to  the  camps  and  hospitals  where  Iowa 
men  were  to  be  found,  in  order  to  judge  for 
himself  concerning  their  treatment  and  needs. 
Cairo,  St.  Louis,  Helena,  the  battle  lines  around 
Fort  Donelson  and  Vicksburg,  and  many  other 
distant  places,  to  say  nothing  of  the  various 
points  of  rendezvous  in  Iowa,  were  visited  by 
the  Governor  and  members  of  his  staff.  Every 
where  his  coming  was  hailed  with  delight  and 
he  came  into  personal  and  friendly  contact  with 
soldiers  of  all  ranks  from  private  to  general. 
The  feeling  of  the  Iowa  troops  was  reflected  in 
the  correspondence  from  a  soldier  in  a  regiment 
stationed  in  the  rear  of  Vicksburg.  "Gov. 
Kirkwood  and  Adj.  Gen.  Baker  were  here  on  the 
10th",  he  wrote.  "The  Governor  is  the  same  in 
4 Dixie'  that  he  is  in  Iowa."  It  was  doubtless  on 
this  occasion  that  the  Confederates,  attracted  by 
the  cheering  when  the  Governor  was  addressing 
the  troops,  proceeded  to  shell  the  locality  where 
he  was  speaking.357 

The  exchange  of  prisoners  was  another  mat 
ter  which  required  of  Governor  Kirkwood  no 
small  amount  of  correspondence  arid  caused 
him  no  little  vexation.  Especially  was  this  true 
in  the  case  of  the  Iowa  men  captured  by  the 
Confederates  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh.  After 


240  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

being1  held  for  a  time  they  were  released  on 
parole.  Being  quartered  at  Benton  Barracks, 
they  were  ordered  to  relieve  a  Missouri  regi 
ment  in  the  performance  of  guard  duty.  This 
order  they  considered  a  violation  of  their  parole 
oaths  and  they  refused  to  obey.  Thereupon, 
some  of  the  officers  were  placed  in  the  guard 
house  and  the  men  were  made  to  feel  the  dis 
pleasure  of  the  authorities  in  charge  at  St. 
Louis. 

Kirkwood  considered  this  treatment  to  be 
very  unjust.  As  early  as  June,  1862,  he  began 
his  efforts  for  the  relief  of  these  men.  "I  object 
to  Iowa  soldiers  who  are  on  parole  doing  any 
thing  which  by  implication  or  indirection  may 
make  them  violate  that  parole",  declared  Ad 
jutant  General  Baker  to  the  Secretary  of  War 
on  July  21st.  "Most  of  these  men  are  at 
Benton  Barracks  and  should  be  furloughed  to 
their  homes  until  exchanged.  They  are  as 
brave  and  willing  men  as  ever  lived. 
Do  not  allow  punishment  to  brave  and  gallant 
men  who  have  done  their  duty.":5r>s  On  the 
following  day  the  Governor  wrote  a  letter,  less 
peremptory  in  tone,  to  Secretary  Stanton;  and 
soon  he  received  assurance  that  an  exchange 
would  be  made  and  that  the  men  would  be 
released  from  any  necessity  of  violating  their 
parole.359 

But  as  late  as  the  middle  of  October  the  men 


GOVERNOR  AND  SOLDIERS  241 

were  still  at  Benton  Barracks.  "Governor 
Kirkwood  directs  me  again  to  call  your  atten 
tion  to  the  Iowa  soldiers  taken  prisoners  by  the 
rebels  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,"  was  the  message 
of  N.  H.  Brainerd  to  Stanton.  "All  the  rebel 
prisoners  taken  at  Donelson,  Shiloh  and  Island 
No.  10,  in  large  part  by  Iowa  troops,  have  been 
returned  to  the  rebels,  but  no  Iowa  man  received 
in  exchange.  Our  people  know  this  and  are 
greatly  dissatisfied  and  feel  that  the  Govern 
ment  is  not  treating  our  troops  fairly.  .  .  . 
Will  you  inform  me  why  it  is  that  no  Iowa  man 
is  exchanged!"360  It  was  not  until  November 
17th  that  the  Governor  received  word  that  all 
the  Iowa  troops  captured  at  Shiloh  had  been 
exchanged.361 

Again,  the  securing  of  recognition  for  the  ser 
vices  of  Iowa  men  through  promotions  was  an 
object  close  to  the  Governor's  heart.  He  was 
always  quick  to  resent  any  slights  to  Iowa  men, 
and  was  constantly  alert  to  obtain  all  possible 
appointments  for  them.  In  a  letter  to  Lincoln, 
for  instance,  early  in  December,  1861,  he  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that  Iowa  had  not  received 
its  due  proportion  of  Brigadier  Generals.  Such 
appointments,  he  said,  would  foster  State  pride 
and  improve  the  service;  and  he  proposed  the 
names  of  Nicholas  Perczel,  Marcellus  M. 
Crocker,  M.  L.  Elliott,  and  Grenville  M. 
Dodge.362  Later  he  urged  Senator  Grimes  to 

17 


1>42  SAMUEL  J.  KIRK  WOOD 

use  liis  influence  to  secure  the  promotion  of 
Iowa  men.  Grenvillc  M.  Dodge  he  considered 
to  be  one  of  the  best  military  men  in  the  State. 
"Turtle's  charge  at  Donelson",  he  added,  "is 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  things  of  this  or  any 
other  war.  I  have  been  over  the  ground  he 
charged  over  &  I  believe  that  none  but  Iowa 
troops  could  have  done  it.  "::ti:l 

But  the  wheels  of  the  government  at  Wash 
ington  turned  slowly.  "I  am  perfectly  dis 
gusted  with  the  action  of  the  authorities  in 
regard  to  Brigadier  ships  from  Iowa",  Kirk- 
wood  wrote  to  Crocker  on  February  28,  186o. 
"There  were  six  recommendations.  .  .  .  That 
slate  was  broken  and  a  new  one  made  up.  How 
it  was  made  I  don't  know  except  that  your  name 
was  on  it  &  I  hope  will  be  kept  on.  I  am  told 
that  Halleck  makes  these  slates.  I  have  argued, 
remonstrated  &  sworn  about  this  matter."  :'14 

To  be  sure  there  were  many  men  who  were 
sorely  disappointed  when  expected  promotions 
did  not  come  to  them,  and  too  frequently  they 
placed  the  blame  on  the  Governor.  In  most 
cases  he  replied  with  patience  and  absence  of 
resentment.  When  one  officer  complained  that 
"while  you  repeatedly  acknowledged  my  just 
claims  to  promotion,  you  gave  preference  to 
such  as  can  command  political  influence,  which 
I  do  not",::t:r>  the  Governor  calmly  denied  the 
charge  and  explained  the  course  he  had  fol- 


GOVERNOR  AND  SOLDIERS  243 

lowed.  "Write  me  often  &  frankly,"  he  added. 
"If  you  think  you  have  cause  for  complaint, 
complain  boldly.  I  can  bear  criticism,  blame, 
even  reproach  from  one  whom  I  esteem  as  sin 
cere  &  honest  as  I  do  you."366 

* '  There  are  thousands  of  men  Captain  in  the 
ranks  as  good  as  either  of  us ' ',  he  admonished  a 
captain  laboring  under  a  feeling  of  unjust  treat 
ment,  "and  when  I  am  disposed  to  complain  of 
the  extent  of  my  labors  and  the  injustice  I  at 
times  receive  I  think  of  those  poor  fellows  &  try 
to  bear  all  cheerfully."  In  conclusion  he 
wished  the  captain  "a  speedy  restoration  to 
health  and  a  future  as  useful  &  honorable  as 
your  past  has  been".367 

Only  occasionally  did  he  permit  anger  to  show 
itself  in  his  letters  to  soldiers,  no  matter  what 
the  provocation.  But  he  stated  exactly  what 
was  in  his  mind  to  a  certain  colonel  who  refused 
to  deliver  a  commission  which  had  been  awarded 
to  a  member  of  his  regiment.  "In  regard  to  the 
matter  of  Lieut.  Peacock",  Governor  Kirkwood 
wrote,  "I  have  only  this  to  say.  I  have  already 
forwarded  to  him  a  duplicate  commission. 
Should  this  not  have  reached  him  I  direct  you 
to  deliver  the  commission  sent  you  by  me  for 
him.  Should  you  continue  to  refuse  to  deliver 
it  ...  or  should  you  for  the  future  refuse 
to  deliver  any  other  commission  sent  you  for  an 
officer  of  your  regiment  I  will  report  you  to  the 


L>44  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Secretary  of  War  as  guilty  of  conduct  unbecom 
ing  an  officer  and  ask  that  you  be  punished. 
.  .  .  Your  letter,  although  perhaps  such  as 
is  worthy  you  is  not  worthy  your  place.  Until 
you  withdraw  it  and  apologize  for  it  I  cannot 
recognize  any  further  recommendations  from 
you  for  promotions  in  your  regiment."368 

In  the  midst  of  the  multifarious  details  which 
required  attention  it  is  truly  remarkable  that 
the  Governor  found  time  to  write  by  his  own 
hand  literally  hundreds  of  friendly  letters  to 
soldiers.  Letters  of  praise  and  encouragement, 
words  of  fatherly  advice,  and  messages  of 
gentle  reproof  were  dispatched  at  every  pos 
sible  opportunity.  "I  congratulate  you  very 
sincerely  on  your  promotion.  I  wish  all  similar 
ones  were  as  well  earned  and  would  be  as 
worthily  worn",  he  wrote  to  Grenville  M. 
Dodge,  when  he  had  been  promoted  to  the  posi 
tion  of  Brigadier  General.300  "The  State  of 
Iowa  will  cherish  in  unwavering  memory  and  in 
the  hearts  of  her  people  the  glorious  career  of 
her  Sons  in  the  field  who  thus  in  the  fray  of 
deadly  battle  attest  the  devotion  of  the  State  to 
the  Union,  liberty  and  the  law."-'570  This  was  a 
portion  of  a  letter  to  Col.  D.  B.  Ilillis  in  praise 
of  the  valiant  conduct  of  his  regiment  in  the 
battle  of  Corinth.  "Hoping  you  may  soon  get 
your  pay  and  leave  to  return  home  a  short  time 
and  that  vou  will  be  a  good  soldier  while  in  ser- 


GOVERNOR  AND  SOLDIERS  245 

vice  and  a  good  man  after  your  return ",  were 
liis  closing  words  to  a  private  who  was  sick  in  a 
hospital  at  Keokuk.371 

"If  there  be  no  truth  in  the  reports  no  harm 
is  done  to  any  one7',  wrote  Kirkwood  to  a 
colonel  who  had  been  accused  of  drunkenness, 
"and  if  unfortunately  you  have  perhaps  uncon 
sciously  fallen  into  this  error  may  I  not  hope 
the  fact  that  it  is  known  &  is  a  source  of  deep 
regret  to  your  best  friends  will  induce  you  to 
retrieve  yourself!  The  good  name  &  fame  of 
your  regiment  is  dear  to  every  citizen  of  Iowa, 
and  may  I  not  confidently  hope  that  you  will 
not  do  any  thing  that  will  tend  to  the  injury  of 
either?  Believe  me  this  letter  is  written  in  all 
kindness  &  if  you  will  allow  me  to  say  so  with 
the  most  friendly  spirit."372  When  another 
Iowa  colonel  was  in  trouble  because  of  his 
refusal  to  obey  an  order  which  he  believed  un 
justified,  the  Governor  wrote  a  letter  of  sym 
pathy  and  friendly  counsel.  "It  looks  to  me  as 
it  does  to  you  as  if  it  were  an  intentional 
slight",  he  wrote.  "But  Colonel  I  regret  you 
did  not  obey  the  order  even  if  it  was  an  im 
proper  one  technically.  My  experience  in  life 
•shows  me  it  is  better  to  treat  these  small  annoy 
ances  with  the  contempt  they  deserve  and  not 
magnify  them  into  matters  of  importance  by 
opposition  to  them.  Your  regiment  is  suffering 
and  must  continue  to  suffer  by  reason  of  your 
arrest."373 


1>4(>  SAMUEL  J.  K  IKK  WOOD 

These  are  only  illustrations  of  the  many  let 
ters  which  strengthened  the  affection  which  the 
Iowa  soldiers  felt  for  the  Governor  who  took 
such  a  friendly,  personal  interest  in  their  wel 
fare.  In  return  a  great  many  of  them  wrote 
letters  to  him,  telling  of  army  life,  of  their 
needs,  their  hopes  and  ambitions,  and  often 
times  sending  relics  for  the  collections  of  the 
State  Historical  Society. 


XXI 

THE  ALTOONA  MEETING  OF  LOYAL  GOVERNORS 

THE  many  duties  of  his  office  did  not  drive  from 
Governor  Kirkwood's  mind  a  feeling  of  dis 
satisfaction  with  the  manner  in  which  the  war 
was  being  prosecuted  —  a  feeling  which  grew 
apace  during  the  summer  of  1862.  The  western 
armies,  to  be  sure,  had  given  good  accounts  of 
themselves ;  but  in  the  East  there  was  delay  and 
inaction.  General  McClellan,  with  a  magnificent 
army  which  idolized  him  and  with  the  best 
equipment  that  could  be  afforded,  still  displayed 
his  characteristic  reluctance  to  engage  the 
enemy.  Then  early  in  September  the  Confed 
erate  army  under  Robert  E.  Lee  swept  into 
Maryland,  thus  threatening  Baltimore  and 
Washington.  To  many  people  in  the  North  the 
Union  seemed  to  be  tottering  to  its  fall. 

It  was  during  this  disheartening  period  that 
Kirkwood  received  a  telegram  from  Governor 
Andrew  G.  Curtin  of  Pennsylvania,  and  later  a 
circular  letter  signed  by  two  or  three  additional 
State  executives,  urging  him  to  attend  a  meet 
ing  of  loyal  Governors  to  be  held  at  the  little 
mountain  town  of  Altoona,  Pennsylvania,  on 

247 


248  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

September  24th.  The  critical  situation  of  the 
country,  it  was  felt,  demanded  united  action. 
It  was  furthermore  believed  that  a  loyal  address 
on  the  part  of  the  State  executives  would  infuse 
new  hope  into  the  North  and  give  the  President 
the  support  he  needed.  At  the  same  time,  it 
was  evidently  the  plan  that  the  conference 
should  result  in  the  giving  of  some  very  plain 
advice  to  the  administration  concerning  the 
conduct  of  military  affairs  and  the  desirability 
of  emancipation.  As  it  turned  out  a  portion  of 
this  contemplated  advice  was  rendered  unneces 
sary.  On  September  17th  the  Confederate 
advance  was  halted  and  rolled  back  at  the 
bloody  battle  of  Antietam;  and  while  on  the 
train  traveling  to  the  conference  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood  read  in  a  newspaper  President 
Lincoln's  Emancipation  Proclamation  of  Sep 
tember  22nd. 

Nevertheless,  there  were  still  many  matters 
which  the  conference  could  profitably  discuss. 
At  least  twelve  Governors  were  present,  and 
others  were  represented  by  proxies/'174  "The 
Proclamation  was  freely  discussed  by  us",  said 
Governor  Kirkwood  many  years  later.  "Its 
issuance  by  the  President  was  heartily  approved 
by  most  if  not  all  present,  and  it  was  resolved 
that  an  address  to  the  President  should  be  pre 
pared  for  presentation  to  him  expressing  that 
approval.  Governor  Andrew  was  appointed  to 


ALTOONA  MEETING  249 

prepare  the  address  and  lie  did  so.  We  then 
discussed  the  condition  of  military  affairs  and 
especially  the  fitness  of  Gen.  McClellan  for  mili 
tary  command.  On  this  point  there  was  some 
difference  of  opinion,  but  my  recollection  is  that 
a  decided  majority  were  of  opinion  that  the 
public  welfare  would  be  promoted  by  his  retire 
ment  from  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac. ' ' 

A  New  York  newspaper  declared  it  had 
Kirkwood's  permission  to  state  that  his  was 
the  strongest  statement  in  the  conference 
against  McClellan.  He  \vas  quoted  as  saying 
that  McClellan  "had  done  wrong  in  allowing 
bad  men  and  bad  newspapers  who  were  doing 
all  in  their  power  to  help  the  rebellion  to  suc 
cess,  to  be  his  peculiar  champions,  although  he 
knew  that  ten  words  from  his  lips  would  send 
them  to  hell,  where  they  belonged."375 

It  was  decided,  however,  that  the  address  to 
the  President  should  not  contain  a  reference  to 
General  McClellan,  but  that  the  Governors 
would  go  to  Washington  and  have  a  personal 
interview  with  Lincoln.  The  plan  was  carried 
out,  and  a  private  interview  was  arranged  at 
the  request  of  the  Governors,  since  they  be 
lieved  it  best  that  such  differences  of  opinion 
as  they  might  have  should  not  be  made  public. 
The  address  which  had  been  prepared  Was  read 
by  Governor  John  A.  Andrew  of  Massachusetts. 


250  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

In  it  the  executives  expressed  their  "heartfelt 
gratitude"  for  the  proclamation,  and  their 
unalterable  determination  to  stand  by  the  Pres 
ident  in  all  his  efforts  to  push  the  war  to  a 
speedy  and  decisive  conclusion. 

After  the  reply  of  the  President,  some  of  the 
Governors  expressed  their  opinions  concerning 
General  McClellan.  Among  those  whose  opinion 
was  unfavorable  none  was  more  outspoken  than 
Governor  Kirkwood.  This  was  perhaps  nat 
ural.  As  the  executive  of  a  western  State,  he 
keenly  felt  that  although  most  of  the  victories 
of  the  war  had  been  won  by  western  armies  due 
attention  had  not  been  given  to  the  armies  of 
the  Avest. 

"What  had  the  army  of  the  Potomac  done?", 
he  asked  later  in  life  when  explaining  his  atti 
tude  toward  McClellan.  "It  had  done  as  much 
and  as  hard  fighting  as  the  western  armies  but 
with  what  result?  If  the  results  were  not 
glorious  and  profitable  the  fault  was  not  with 
the  soldiers;  where  was  it?  I  then  thought  and 
still  think  it  was  with  the  commander.  He  was 
often  in  a  quarrel  with  the  President,  the  Cab 
inet  and  the  Radicals,  as  he  called  a  large 
portion  of  the  republican  members  of  congress. 
1  To  seemed  to  think  the  salvation  of  the  country 
depended  on  him  alone  and  was  continually 
complaining.  .  .  .  The  army  of  the  Poto 
mac  had  the  first  and  best  of  every  thing  and 


ALTOONA  MEETING  251 

our  western  armies  had  what  was  left.  The 
army  of  the  Potomac  was  better  and  sooner 
armed,  better  clothed,  better  equipped  in  every 
way  than  our  western  armies.  The  public  posi 
tion  I  then  held  compelled  me  to  know  it,  and  I 
was  sometimes  angry,  and  I  fear  at  times  a 
little  profane  about  it,  and  yet  our  western 
troops  were  always  doing  something  and 
McClellan  was  only  getting  ready." 

Thus  it  was  that  in  speaking  for  himself  and 
the  people  of  Iowa,  Governor  Kirkwood  told  the 
President  that  he  believed  that  General  McClel 
lan  was  unfit  to  command  an  army.  Although 
his  men  were  well  equipped,  well  disciplined, 
and  fought  as  bravely  as  men  ever  fought,  they 
were  constantly  being  defeated. 

"You  Iowa  people  then  judge  generals  as 
you  do  lawyers,"  said  Lincoln,  with  one  of  his 
genial  smiles,  "by  their  success  in  trying 
cases." 

"Yes,"  replied  Kirkwood,  "something  like 
that ;  the  lawyer  who  is  always  losing  his  cases, 
especially  when  he  was  right  and  had  justice  on 
his  side  don't  get  much  practice  in  Iowa." 

After  the  talk  continued  thus  good-naturedly 
for  some  time,  Kirkwood  spoke  even  more 
directly  what  was  on  his  mind.  "Mr.  Presi 
dent,"  he  said,  "our  Iowa  people  fear  and  I 
fear  that  the  Administration  is  afraid  to  re 
move  Gen.  McClellan." 


252  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

The  color  mounted  to  Lincoln's  cheek  and  the 
Iowa  executive  saw  that  he  had  been  too  abrupt. 
"Understand  me,"  he  hastened  to  explain,  "we 
fear  that  the  strong-  efforts  made  by  Gen. 
McClellan  and  his  toadies  in  the  army  to  attach 
his  soldiers  to  him  personally  and  their  efforts 
and  the  efforts  of  a  certain  class  of  politicians 
outside  the  army  to  cause  his  soldiers  to  believe 
that  the  severe  criticisms  to  which  the  General 
has  been  subjected  are  intended  to  apply  to 
them  (the  soldiers)  as  well  as  to  him  (their 
commander)  have  so  prejudiced  his  soldiers' 
minds  as  to  make  it  unsafe  to  remove  him  for 
fear  his  removal  might  cause  insubordination, 
perhaps  mutiny;  that  is  what  I  meant  when  I 
spoke  of  your  being  afraid  to  remove  him." 

"Gov.  Kirkwood,"  replied  Lincoln  slowly 
and  with  emphasis,  after  a  brief  silence,  "if  I 
believed  our  cause  would  be  benefited  by  remov 
ing  Gen.  McClellan  to-morrow,  I  would  remove 
him  to-morrow.  I  do  not  so  believe  to-day,  but 
if  the  time  shall  come  when  I  shall  so  believe  I 
will  remove  him  promptly,  and  not  till  then." 

In  spite  of  the  frankness  of  this  reply,  or 
perhaps  because  of  it,  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  went 
away  well  satisfied.  He  realized  that  the  prob 
lem  was  one  for  the  proper  solution  of  which 
the  President  must  take  the  responsibility,  and 
lie  knew  that  Lincoln  meant  and  would  do  just 
what  he  said. 


XXII 

BOEDER  DEFENSE 

ALTHOUGH  far  removed  from  the  scenes  of 
decisive  combat  between  North  and  South,  the 
soil  of  Iowa  was  not  wholly  without  danger  of 
invasion.  Governor  Kirkwood's  chief  and  most 
arduous  task  was  to  make  sure  that  this  State 
did  its  full  share  in  the  struggle  to  preserve  the 
Union.  But  almost  equally  pressing  was  the 
necessity  of  protecting  the  people  of  Iowa 
against  threatened  inroads  by  border  ruffians 
from  Missouri  and  redskins  from  the  north  and 
west. 

Scarcely  had  the  war  begun  when  there  came 
disquieting  reports  from  the  Missouri  border. 
There  was  great  uncertainty  concerning  the 
course  which  Missouri  might  pursue.  "I  have 
strong  hope  Missouri  will  have  too  much  sense 
to  attack  us",  Kirkwood  wrote  on  April  30th. 
"Exposed  as  she  is  on  three  sides,  to  Illinois, 
Iowa  &  Kansas  a  border  war  on  her  part  will  be 
madness  but  it  is  well  to  be  prepared.  Impress 
on  your  people  the  necessity  of  good  order  on 
their  part  towards  Missourians  unless  attacked. 
Act  only  on  the  defensive  until  an  attack  is 

253 


1>54  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

made.  Should  any  outbreak  occur  notify  me  at 
once. ' '  At  the  same  time  he  urged  that '  *  minute 
men"  should  be  organized  in  all  the  southern 
counties,  with  such  arms  as  were  to  be  found, 
and  that  these  companies  should  hold  them 
selves  in  readiness  to  respond  to  a  call  on  short 
notice.  "This  is  not  what  I  would  like  to  do", 
he  said,  "or  what  perhaps  is  the  best  thing 
could  be  done  if  we  had  arms  but  is  the  best 
thing  can  be  done  now."3™ 

In  a  letter  to  a  citizen  of  Missouri  a  few  days 
later  the  Governor  declared  that  if  there  were 
hostilities  between  the  people  of  Missouri  and 
the  people  of  Iowa  they  must  be  begun  by  the 
former.  But,  he  added,  "if  we  are  attacked  we 
will  take  what  we  deem  the  best  means  of  de 
fense  even  if  that  should  be  to  carry  the  war 
across  our  border  into  Missouri."377 

About  the  middle  of  May,  1861,  he  appointed 
John  Edwards  of  Chariton  and  Cyrus  Bussey 
of  Bloomfield  as  special  aids,  with  large  dis 
cretionary  powers,  to  organize  means  of  pre 
serving  tranquillity  in  the  border  counties.  "I 
was  well  satisfied  the  peace  of  our  State  would 
be  more  easily  preserved  by  preventing  inva 
sion  than  by  repelling  it,"  said  the  Governor 
later  in  describing  his  activities  to  the  legis 
lature,  "and  therefore  while  I  could  not  order 
our  State  troops  beyond  our  State  line,  I  in 
structed  Colonels  Edwards  and  Bussey,  and 


BORDER  DEFENSE  255 

through  them  the  troops  under  their  command, 
that  if  at  any  time  the  loyal  men  of  Northern 
Missouri  were  in  peril  and  called  upon  them  for 
assistance,  they  had  as  full  authority  as  I  could 
give  them  to  lead  their  men  into  Missouri  to  the 
aid  of  the  loyal  men  there,  and  my  promise  upon 
their  return  that  my  power  should  be  used  to 
the  utmost  extent  to  protect  them,  if  called  in 
question  for  so  doing.7'378 

As  a  matter  of  fact  Iowa  men  did  cross  over 
into  Missouri  on  several  occasions  during  the 
summer  of  1861.  Late  in  July,  for  instance, 
John  Edwards  reported  that  "at  least  1,500 
citizens  of  Iowa  left  their  harvest  fields  and 
families  and  rushed  into  Missouri  to  the  relief 
of  the  Union  men.  These  citizens  were  armed 
in  every  conceivable  manner,  without  officers, 
.system,  or  drill."379  Nevertheless,  the  assist 
ance  thus  rendered  was  effective  and  the  Gov 
ernor  received  assurances  of  appreciation  from 
loyal  officers  and  citizens  of  Missouri. 

All  through  the  summer  and  fall  of  1861  there 
was  uneasiness  in  southern  Iowa.  Inspired  by 
Confederate  successes,  strong  bands  of  rebels 
continued  to  harass  northern  Missouri,  and  to 
threaten  vengeance  against  the  people  of  Iowa 
who  on  several  occasions  had  helped  to  thwart 
their  designs.  "A  battle  lost  at  this  time  by 
General  Fremont",  wrote  Kirkwood  to  Lincoln 
early  in  October,  "would  lay  all  our  southern 


!>:>()  SAMUEL  J.  KLKKWOOD 

border  open  to  devastation  and  plunder  by  the 
victors,  and  while  we  have  strong  trust  that 
success  and  not  defeat  awaits  us,  the  probability 
of  a  different  result  naturally  excites  alarm.  ":{SO 

In  order  to  be  ready  for  any  emergency  Gov 
ernor  Kirkwood  appointed  men  in  all  the 
counties  along  the  southern  border  to  organize 
all  the  able-bodied  men  into  companies  and 
regiments  for  home  protection.  "As  you  are 
aware,"  he  wrote  in  a  circular  letter  to  the 
officers  thus  appointed,  "the  State  is  not  prop 
erly  armed,  nor  can  arms  be  had  at  present  by 
the  State.  Under  these  circumstances  you  will 
require  every  man  in  your  county  having  pri 
vate  arms  to  report  the  number  and  kind  of 
arms  he  has.  Double-barreled  shotguns  and 
hunting  rifles,  although  not  the  best,  are  good 
arms  in  the  hands  of  brave  men."381 

Thus  with  characteristic  vigor  and  common 
sense  did  Governor  Kirkwood  direct  measures 
for  home  defense.  Fortunately,  the  time  soon 
came  when  all  danger  from  invasion  by  organ 
ized  Confederate  forces  from  Missouri  was 
removed.  But  bands  of  guerrillas  infested  the 
region  throughout  the  war,:{S2  and  no  section  of 
the  border  was  safe  from  the  raids  of  these  out 
laws  bent  on  horse-stealing,  plunder,  and  de 
struction.  "I  wrote  you  over  a  year  ago  in 
regard  to  bushwhackers  from  your  State  who 
were  doing  much  mischief  among  us",  wrote 


BORDER  DEFENSE  257 

Kirkwood  to  the  Governor  of  Missouri  in 
March,  1863.  "This  thing  has  now  reached  a 
point  when  self  protection  requires  the  author 
ities  of  this  State  to  take  some  steps  for  the 
removal  of  these  men."  He  insisted  that  co 
operation  on  the  part  of  the  Missouri  executive 
wras  demanded,  if  for  no  other  reason,  on  the 
ground  of  "a  proper  comity  to  this  State,  which 
is  not  willing  to  have  its  peace  endangered  by 
vagabonds,  robbers  and  murderers  from  Mis 
souri."383  Until  the  very  end  of  his  adminis 
tration  no  small  part  of  Governor  Kirkwood 's 
correspondence  had  to  do  with  troubles  on  the 
Missouri  border. 

Meanwhile  the  situation  on  the  western  and 
northern  borders  of  the  State  was  equally 
alarming.  All  northwestern  Iowa,  from  Coun 
cil  Bluffs  to  Kossuth  County,  was  still  an  Indian 
frontier,  and  the  memory  of  the  Spirit  Lake 
massacre  of  1857  was  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the 
settlers.  When  the  garrisons  at  the  military 
posts  on  the  upper  Missouri  and  in  the  north 
west  were  weakened  or  wholly  withdrawn  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war,  the  redskins  soon  showed 
signs  of  increasing  restlessness.  Apprehension 
grew  apace  in  the  small  villages  and  scattered 
settlements  in  northwestern  Iowa,  and  the 
problem  of  defense  was  one  of  the  many  sub 
jects  claiming  the  Governor's  attention. 

Even  before  Fort  Sumter  had  been  fired  upon 

18 


258  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Ivirkwood  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War  asking 
for  arms  for  the  protection  of  the  frontier. 
This  plea  was  reiterated  immediately  after  the 
beginning  of  hostilities,  when  he  requested  that 
five  hundred  long-range  rifles  he  sent  to  Council 
Bluffs  and  an  equal  number  to  Sioux  City.:;s> 
In  reply  to  these  and  other  urgent  appeals,  the 
War  Department  informed  the  Governor  that 
the  troops  called  into  service  by  the  government 
would  not  be  taken  out  of  the  State  immedi 
ately  and  that  they  would  be  furnished  with 
arms  which  would  be  sent  to  Keokuk.  The 
Secretary  of  War  felt  that  these  troops  could  be 
used  in  case  of  emergency  and  until  other 
arrangements  could  be  made.385 

"In  regard  to  furnishing  arms  for  the 
militia,"  was  Ivirkwood 's  somewhat  impatient 
answer  to  this  suggestion,  "you  propose  to 
place  1,000  stand  of  arms  'at  Keokuk,  in  charge 
of  Colonel  Curtis,  or  some  other  responsible 
person,  to  be  used  in  case  of  emergency.5  In 
reply  I  can  only  say  that  if  by  this  it  is  intended 
that  the  arms  shall  remain  in  Keokuk  until  an 
attack  is  actually  made  by  Indians,  and  then  he 
used  to  repel  such  attack,  such  arrangement  will 
not  l)e  of  practical  benefit.  Keokuk  is  at  least 
300  miles  from  Council  Bluffs,  and  nearly  or 
quite  400  miles  from  Sioux  City,  in  which  region 
the  Indians  will  be  troublesome,  if  at  all. 
Between  Keokuk  and  either  of  these  points 


BORDER  DEFENSE  259 

there  are  only  about  80  miles  of  railroad,  and 
the  balance  of  the  way  arms,  &c.,  must  be  car 
ried  by  wagon.  The  Indians  might  invade  our 
State,  do  incalculable  injury,  and  be  gone  be 
yond  our  reach  long  before  an  express  could 
reach  Keokuk  and  the  arms  taken  to  the  point 
of  attack/7386 

Caleb  Baldwin  of  Council  Bluffs  and  A.  W. 
Hubbard  of  Sioux  City  were  appointed  as  aids, 
to  act  for  the  Governor  and  keep  him  informed. 
Companies  of  mounted  men  were  organized  and 
called  into  service  for  short  periods  at  different 
times.  Up  to  January,  1862,  Kirkwood  was 
able  to  report,  no  Indian  raids  had  occurred.387 

But  during  the  summer  of  1862  feverish 
excitement  prevailed  in  northern  Iowa.  The 
Sioux  Indians  went  on  the  war-path  in  southern 
Minnesota.  Plundering  and  burning  dwellings 
as  they  went,  the  savages  massacred  hundreds 
of  settlers,  especially  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Ulm 
just  north  of  the  Iowa  line.  The  news  of  this 
uprising  spread  terror  among  the  scattered 
settlements  in  north-central  Iowa,  and  many 
squatters  deserted  their  homes  and  fled  for 
safety  to  the  more  thickly  settled  portion  of  the 
State.388  It  was  a  situation  which  demanded 
prompt  action. 

"I  am  informed  there  is  probable  danger  of 
an  attack  by  hostile  Indians,  on  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Northwestern  portion  of  our  State", 


260  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

wrote  Governor  Kirkwood  to  S.  R.  Ingham  on 
August  29th.  "You  will  please  proceed  at  once 
to  Fort  Dodge  and  to  snch  other  points  there  as 
you  may  deem  proper.  Use  the  arms,  ammu 
nition  and  money  placed  at  your  disposal  in 
such  manner  as  your  judgment  may  dictate  as 
best  to  promote  the  object  in  view,  to-wit:  the 
protection  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  frontier. 
.  .  .  Use  your  discretion  in  all  things,  and 
exercise  any  power  I  could  exercise  if  I  were 
present,  according  to  your  best  discretion." 

Two  weeks  later  the  Governor  issued  general 
orders  for  the  organization  of  five  companies  of 
State  troops  to  defend  the  frontier,  which  had 
been  authorized  by  the  General  Assembly  at  the 
special  session  of  1862.  Realizing  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  maintain  troops  on  the  border 
permanently,  he  suggested  that  block-houses, 
surrounded  by  stockades,  should  be  erected  at 
frequent  intervals  in  the  threatened  area. 
"These  houses  and  grounds",  he  said,  "are 
intended  as  rallying  points  in  the  future  for  the 
settlers  in  cases  like  the  present,  at  which  they 
can  maintain  themselves  until  help  can  reach 
them.  This,  in  my  judgment,  is  the  only  way  in 
which  security  can  ever  be  given  to  the  bor 
der.  ":{!M(  About  the  same  time  he  sent  an 
urgent  telegram  to  the  War  Department  asking 
for  arms  and  ammunition.391 

The  Governor's  orders  were  faithfully  car- 


BORDER  DEFENSE  261 

ried  out.  Five  companies  were  raised  and 
organized  into  what  was  known  as  the  Northern 
Iowa  Border  Brigade.  "  About  two  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  rank  and  file,  were  distributed 
among  several  towns  situated  between  Chain 
Lakes  in  Emmet  County  and  Sioux  City,  and 
soon  block-houses  and  stockades  were  erected, 
chiefly  at  local  expense,  at  Correctionville, 
Cherokee,  Peterson,  Estherville,  and  on  the 
Minnesota  border  at  Iowa  Lake  in  the  north 
eastern  corner  of  Emmet  County."392  The 
State  troops  were  later  disbanded  and  their 
places  taken  by  United  States  troops.  But  the 
prompt  organization  of  a  military  force  and  the 
erection  of  forts  and  places  of  refuge  for  the 
settlers  restored  a  feeling  of  security  in  north 
western  Iowa,  and  prevented  the  Indians  from 
invading  this  State.  After  the  summer  of  1862 
there  ceased  to  be  any  serious  danger  in  that 
quarter,  although  as  late  as  January,  1864, 
Governor  Kirkwood  urged  that  means  of  pro 
tection  on  the  frontier  be  maintained.393 


XXIII 

FIRE  IN  THE  REAR 

A  BRAVE  enemy  in  the  open  field  may  be  met 
with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  conditions  and 
magnitude  of  the  struggle.  Thus,  it  soon  be 
came  clear  to  Governor  Kirkwood  and  those  in 
authority  with  him  that  Iowa's  duty  in  the  great 
war  was  to  devote  all  its  resources  of  men  and 
money  to  the  one  common  object  of  bringing 
defeat  to  the  armies  of  the  South.  The  problem 
of  border  protection  was  also  plain :  it  was 
largely  a  matter  of  securing  the  means  of 
defense.  But  there  were  dangers  more  insidi 
ous  than  those  arising  from  bushwhackers  from 
Missouri  or  red  men  on  the  northwestern 
frontier.  There  were  enemies  at  home  — 
enemies  whose  activities  were  carried  on  in 
secret  and  oftentimes  under  the  cover  of 
darkness. 

During  the  early  days  of  the  war  personal 
protests  and  factional  strife  were  swallowed  up 
in  the  enthusiasm  of  patriotism  which  revealed 
the  true  feelings  of  the  vast  majority  of  the 
people  of  Iowa.  If  there  were  those  who  har 
bored  ill-will  toward  the  North  they  were  care- 


FIRE  IN  THE  REAR  263 

ful  at  first  not  to  betray  their  feelings.  But  as 
the  difficulties  of  the  government,  both  in  State 
and  Nation,  increased  and  as  Confederate  suc 
cesses  gave  encouragement  to  southern  sympa 
thizers  it  became  apparent  that  in  almost  every 
community  in  Iowa  and  especially  in  certain 
sections  there  were  men  whose  loyalty  could  not 
be  trusted.  The  term  "  Copperhead "  came  to 
be  applied  to  these  men,  whose  courage  or 
sympathy  for  the  South  was  not  strong  enough 
to  induce  them  to  cast  their  lot  with  the  Con 
federate  army,  but  who  sought  secretly  to  sow 
the  seeds  of  discord  and  hamper  the  govern 
ment  in  every  possible  manner. 

It  was  during  the  summer  of  1862,  when  it 
seemed  likely  that  a  draft  would  be  put  into 
effect,  that  Governor  Kirkwood  first  received 
warnings  of  the  real  seriousness  of  the  anti- 
Union  agitation  in  Iowa.  A  letter  from  Fair- 
field  in  August  threw  light  on  the  character  of 
an  applicant  for  a  position  in  the  medical  corps. 
"Only  last  Friday,"  declared  the  writer,  this 
person  "said  speaking  of  the  draft,  'What  if  a 
draft  is  made?  It  will  be  resisted.  I  know  of 
six  rifles  laid  away  ready  for  use  to  fight  against 
it  whenever  the  thing  is  attempted' — and  he 
said  it  in  a  bullying  way--  as  if  he  would  him 
self  resist.  "394 

By  the  latter  part  of  November  the  Governor 
was  in  possession  of  enough  information  to 


264  SAMUEL  J.  KIHKWOOD 

convince  him  that  disloyal  sentiment  in  Iowa 
could  not  be  ignored.  He  wrote  to  Senator 
Grimes  that  troops  must  be  stationed  in  Iowa 
to  quell  resistance  in  case  the  draft  should  be 
ordered.  "I  wish  the  authorities  would  pursue 
a  different  course",  he  continued,  "in  regard  to 
persons  arrested  for  disloyalty  —  either  not 
make  any  arrests  or  else  provide  military  com 
missions  for  the  trial  of  those  arrested. 
Mahoney's  arrest  was  a  good  thing  —  his  dis 
charge  without  trial  in  my  judgment  a  bad 
thing.  There  are  still  in  confinement  in  this 
State  several  persons  arrested  in  Madison 
County,  members  of  Lodges  of  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Circle.  They  ought  to  be  tried  and 
disposed  of.  "•'*nr> 

It  was  openly  charged  in  an  Iowa  City  news 
paper  that  Kirkwood  favored  the  draft,  because 
it  would  necessitate  the  making  of  many  ap 
pointments,  which  in  turn  would  further  his 
aspirations  for  the  senatorship.  Even  a  strong 
Republican  newspaper  at  Keokuk  voiced  its 
opposition  to  the  draft. ;{1Mi  It  is  no  wonder, 
therefore,  that  as  the  months  went  by  the  situ 
ation  in  some  localities  became  more  and  more 
alarming.  "I  am,  very  reluctantly,  compelled 
to  believe  there  is  danger  of  an  outbreak  in  our 
own  State  in  favor  of  the  rebellion,  unless 
measures  be  taken  to  prevent  it",  wrote  the 
Governor  in  February,  1863.  "I  am  now  taking 


FIRE  IN  THE  REAR  265 

the  necessary  steps  to  have  a  volunteer  Com 
pany  of  undoubtedly  loyal  men  organized  and 
armed  in  each  one  of  the  second  tier  of  counties 
from  our  south  line.''397 

"By  all  means  keep  the  State  arms  &  ammu 
nition  in  your  hands  and  don't  give  them  up  to 
any  one  without  a  written  order  from  Adjt.  Gen. 
Baker,  Mr.  Earner  one  of  my  aids  in  Fremont 
Co.  or  myself",  he  wrote  to  a  captain  in 
Decatur  County  two  weeks  later.  "If  any 
attempt  is  made  to  get  these  arms  from  you, 
resist  by  force."398  "Things  look  badly  in 
places  in  our  State",  he  warned  Caleb  Baldwin. 
"Are  the  arms  safe?"399  In  an  urgent  letter  to 
Secretary  Stanton  on  March  10th  Kirkwood 
requested  that  the  State  be  furnished  with  arms. 
"It  is  a  fact  that  unscrupulous  men  are  organ 
izing  and  arming  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  a 
draft  under  the  conscription  law",  he  said, 
"and  those  under  their  control  will  be  pushed 
into  acts  of  hostility  to  the  Government  unless 
there  is  such  a  state  of  preparation  as  to  make 
it  hopeless."400  "I  am  quietly  taking  steps  to 
counteract  the  efforts  of  the  '  Copperheads '  and 
to  be  prepared  for  them",  he  informed  a  citizen 
of  northern  Iowa  on  the  following  day.  "It 
would  be  a  terrible  thing  to  have  civil  war  with 
all  its  horrors  in  our  State,  and  if  it  comes  I 
intend  it  shall  be  terribly  atoned  for  by  those 
who  bring  it  upon  us."401 


266  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Tlioro  was  evidence  that  disaffection  in  Iowa 
was  being  fomented  by  influences  and  agents 
from  outside  the  State.  On  March  1.3,  1863, 
Governor  Kirkwood  expressed  to  Secretary 
Stanton  his  belief  that  "paid  agents  of  the 
rebels"  were  operating  in  Iowa.40-  Ten  days 
later  he  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  people  of 
Iowa,  declaring  that  refugees  from  Missouri, 
many  of  whom  had  been  Confederate  soldiers 
or  guerrillas,  had  fled  to  Iowa  to  escape  punish 
ment  for  their  crimes.  "These  men,"  he  said, 
"by  bold  and  fierce  denunciations  of  certain 
acts  of  the  President  and  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  as  unconstitutional,  and  by  indus 
triously  teaching  that  the  citizen  may  lawfully 
resist  with  force  what  he  deems  an  unconstitu 
tional  act  or  law,  and  in  other  ways,  are  seeking 
to  array  such  as  may  be  duped  and  deceived  by 
their  artful  and  wicked  machinations  into 
armed  resistance  to  the  General  Government, 
and  to  inaugurate  civil  war  within  our  limits, 
thus  exposing  their  dupes  to  the  punishment 
due  to  traitors,  and  our  State  to  the  storm  of 
war  which  has  swept  as  with  fire  the  State  of 
Missouri.  These  men  are  endeavoring  to  in 
duce  our  soldiers  in  the  field  to  desert  their 
colors,  thus  exposing  them  to  the  penalty  of 
desertion,  which  is  death;  and  are  endeavoring 
to  induce  our  citizens  to  violate  the  law  by 
resisting  the  arrest  of  deserters,  and  a  conscrip- 


FIRE  IN  THE  REAR  267 

tion  in  this  State  if  ordered,  thereby  exposing 
themselves  to  the  punishment  due  such  criminal 
acts/' 

The  Governor,  therefore,  warned  these  un 
welcome  intruders  that  a  continuation  of  their 
activities  would  surely  lead  to  their  punishment 
and  that  he  had  requested  the  proper  officials  to 
keep  a  close  watch  on  their  conduct.  "I  also 
warn  all  the  good  people  of  the  State,"  he  con 
tinued,  "as  they  value  peace  and  good  order, 
and  would  avoid  the  horrors  of  civil  war,  not  to 
be  misled  by  these  wicked  and  designing  men, 
who  have  nothing  to  lose,  hope  for  plunder  and 
profit  in  the  license  of  civil  war.  The  laws  of 
the  General  Government  will  be  enforced  among 
us  at  any  cost  and  at  all  hazards,  and  the  men 
who  array  themselves  in  armed  resistance  to 
the  law^s  will  certainly  be  overpowered  and 
punished."403 

The  most  impressive  and  conspicuous  mani 
festation  of  disloyalty  in  Iowa  was  presented  by 
the  organization  known  as  the  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Circle.  This  was  a  secret  society  or 
lodge,  which  in  February,  1863,  was  said  to  be 
organized  in  every  township  in  the  State  and  to 
have  as  many  as  forty-two  thousand  members. 
It  was  reported  that  each  member  took  an  oath 
to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
as  it  then  stood,  to  resist  the  draft  and  all  orders 
issued  by  the  existing  administration,  and  to  do 


268  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

all  in  tlioir  power  "to  unite  the  States  of  the 
Northwest  with  the  Southern  Confederacy". 
They  held  secret  meetings,  frequently  com 
mencing  at  midnight ;  and  it  was  asserted  that 
they  were  collecting  and  storing  arms  and 
ammunition.404 

"If  you  fight  the  Devil  you  must  use  fire. 
Deception  is  permissible  in  detecting  traitors 
who  are  trying  to  betray  the  country",  Kirk- 
wood  wrote  to  a  citizen  of  southern  Iowa  who 
had  secured  some  first-hand  information  con 
cerning  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle.  "I 
wish  your  friend  would  go  on  with  these 
scoundrels  and  learn  all  their  secrets  &  plans 
and  then  we  will  be  ready  to  meet  them."4ur> 
"General  statements  that  men  are  disloyal  will 
do  no  good",  he  told  another  friend.  "Specific 
acts  and  sayings  must  be  given  in  the  form  of 
affidavits  in  all  cases.  Cannot  you  ascertain 
what  is  said  and  done  at  some  of  these  secret 
meetings  —  what  resolutions  are  passed  and 
what  course  of  action  resolved  on  ?  "40G  "  There 
are  secret  societies  all  through  the  southern  & 
central  portions  of  the  State",  he  informed 
Nathan  Udell,  "and  even  in  the  north  part,  in 
which  treason  is  openly  taught  and  prepara 
tions  made  for  an  outbreak.  ...  I  assure 
you  doctor  this  is  not  'a  scare'  on  my  part.  We 
have  been  in  great  danger  and  are  yet  in  some 
danger  of  having  rebellion  with  all  its  accom- 


FIRE  IN  THE  REAR  269 

paniments  in  Iowa.  I  have  been  preparing  for 
it  and  the  men  who  find  their  plans  thwarted  by 
my  preparations  are  'howling'  against  me.  Let 
them  howl.  I  will  not  have  rebellion  and  civil 
war  here  if  I  can  help  it  and  if  they  come  I  will 
try  to  be  prepared  to  crush  them."407 

Agents  whose  loyalty  was  beyond  suspicion 
were  appointed  in  every  doubtful  county. 
Companies  of  home  guards  wrere  raised  and 
held  in  readiness  to  act  in  case  of  disturbance. 
Arms  and  ammunition  Avere  distributed  so  far 
as  possible,  and  the  Governor  made  appeals  to 
Secretary  Stanton  for  more  adequate  means  of 
defense.  ' '  There  is  undoubtedly  a  feverish  and 
excited  state  of  the  public  mind,"  he  wrote  on 
March  13,  1863,  ' '  and  matters  must  be  managed 
here  prudently  and  firmly,  or  a  collision  may 
ensue.  ...  I  scarcely  know  what  to  advise 
in  regard  to  these  men  who  are  talking  treason, 
huzzaing  for  Jeff.  Davis,  organizing  the  Knights 
of  the  Golden  Circle,  &c.  It  would  be  worse 
than  useless  to  arrest  them  unless  they  can  be 
tried,  and  if  found  guilty,  punished.  If  arrests 
could  be  made,  trials  and  convictions  had,  and 
punishment  sharply  administered,  the  effect 
would  be  excellent."408 

Fortunately  it  was  not  necessary  to  enforce 
the  draft  in  Iowa  during  Governor  Kirkwood's 
administration,  and  hence  the  threat  of  resist 
ance  was  not  put  to  a  test.  But  there  were 


270  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

many  cases  of  violence  in  communities  where 
southern  sympathizers  were  numerous.409  Feel 
ing  ran  high  in  such  communities  and  it  required 
only  a  small  incident  to  arouse  the  mob  spirit 
and  produce  serious  disorder.  It  was  just  such 
circumstances  which  gave  rise  to  the  dramatic 
episode  known  as  "The  Tally  War"  in  Keokuk 
County.410 

The  quiet  little  town  of  South  English  was 
the  scene  of  a  tragedy  on  Saturday,  August  1, 
1863,  which  threatened  to  precipitate  a  ven 
detta,  if  not  a  miniature  civil  war,  in  south 
eastern  Iowa.  Keokuk  County  was  one  of  the 
centers  of  disloyal  sentiment,  and  the  "Copper 
heads",  under  the  leadership  of  a  young  min 
ister  by  the  name  of  George  C.  Tally,  had  been 
very  outspoken  in  their  criticism  of  the  govern 
ment.  They  had  even  declared  their  intention, 
it  is  claimed,  of  "cleaning  out"  South  English, 
where  their  conduct  had  become  particularly 
distasteful. 

On  the  first  day  of  August  a  Republican  meet 
ing  was  held  in  South  English  and,  because  of 
the  threats  which  had  been  made,  many  of  the 
citizens  of  the  town  and  surrounding  country 
attended  the  meeting  armed  with  such  weapons 
as  they  possessed.  In  the  afternoon  Tally  and 
a  number  of  his  followers  were  seen  approach 
ing  the  town  in  wagons.  Great  excitement 
immediately  prevailed.  lie  was  warned  not  to 


FIRE  IN  THE  REAR  271 

enter  the  village,  but  he  insisted  that  he  only 
wished  to  pass  through  the  town  and  that  no 
harm  was  intended.  As  the  wagons  reached  the 
center  of  the  town  there  were  cries  of  "  coward  " 
and  "  copperhead "  and  then  accidentally  a  gun 
was  discharged.  Weapons  were  immediately 
brought  from  their  hiding-places  under  straw 
in  the  bottom  of  the  wagons  and  a  general 
fusillade  of  shots  was  discharged  on  both  sides. 
Standing  erect  in  his  conveyance,  with  a  pistol 
in  one  hand  and  a  long  bowie-knife  in  the  other, 
Tally  was  among  the  first  to  fire;  and  he  was 
likewise  the  principal  target  for  his  opponents. 
Twice  he  fired  and  then  fell  dead  with  a  bullet 
through  his  brain  and  two  through  his  body. 
Two  or  three  other  men  were  wounded,  and  the 
only  wonder  was  that  the  list  of  casualties  was 
not  much  larger. 

The  followers  of  Tally  withdrew  from  the 
town,  swearing  vengeance  for  the  death  of  their 
leader.  The  news  spread  rapidly.  Soon  south 
ern  sympathizers  from  Keokuk,  Wapello, 
Mahaska,  and  Poweshiek  counties  began  to 
gather  at  a  rendezvous  near  the  western  border 
of  the  county.  The  whole  countryside  was 
filled  with  apprehension,  and  feverish  prepara 
tions  were  made  for  defense.  Three  citizens  of 
South  English  wrote  urgent  letters  to  Governor 
Kirkwood  begging  for  aid  in  protecting  their 
town,  and  disclaiming  any  aggression  on  the 
part  of  the  loyal  people  of  the  place.411 


SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 


"I,  of  course,  cannot  determine  where  the 
fault  is  or  who  are  the  parties  responsible,  but 
it  is  very  clear  this  is  a  matter  to  be  determined 
by  the  court,  and  not  by  a  mob",  wrote  Kirk- 
wood  in  response  to  these  appeals.  He  informed 
them  that  he  had  sent  the  sheriff  of  Washington 
County  forty  stands  of  arms  and  ammunition 
to  be  used  in  quelling  the  disturbance.  "They 
must  not  be  used  for  any  other  purpose,  or  in 
any  other  manner",  he  continued,  well  knowing 
the  consequences  which  might  follow  rash 
action.  "You  must  keep  your  people  strictly 
on  the  defensive,  and  clearly  within  the  law. 
You  must  not  resist  the  execution  of  legal 
process,  but  must  aid  in  enforcing  and  executing 
it.  If  you  are  attacked  by  a  mob  of  riotous  and 
lawless  men,  you  will  of  course  defend  your 
selves.  "41- 

But  the  seriousness  of  the  situation  became 
more  and  more  apparent  as  additional  informa 
tion  was  received.  "A  large  body  of  men, 
armed  with  rifles  and  shot-guns,"  wrote  J.  II. 
Sanders,  "have  formed,  and  are  camped  in  the 
western  part  of  the  county,  threatening  to  take 
the  law  into  their  own  hands,  and  murder, 
plunder,  burn  and  destroy,  unless  their  un 
reasonable  demands  are  complied  with.  Ac 
cording  to  their  own  statements,  this  force,  thus 
assembled  in  violation  of  law,  amounts  to  over 
three  thousand  men,  and  from  my  own  knowl- 


FI&E  IN  THE  REAR  273 

edge  of  the  matter  I  think  there  must  be  at 
least  one  thousand  men  in  the  county  unlawfully 
under  arms.  Our  citizens  are  in  very  great 
fear  for  the  safety  of  person  and  property,  and 
the  county  funds,  valuable  public  records,  and 
the  greater  portion  of  the  funds  of  private  indi 
viduals,  have  been  removed  from  the  county  for 
safe  keeping."413 

On  Tuesday  two  citizens  of  Sigourney  made 
a  hurried  trip  to  Iowa  City  to  consult  with  the 
Governor  and  impress  upon  him  the  necessity 
of  furnishing  aid.  By  this  time,  however, 
Kirkwood  had  become  fully  convinced  of  the 
need  for  prompt  and  vigorous  action.  With 
characteristic  directness  he  proceeded  to  adopt 
measures  to  crush  the  incipient  rebellion  and 
restore  order.  He  went  immediately  to  Daven 
port  to  confer  with  Adjutant-General  Baker 
and  other  authorities.  From  there  he  issued 
orders  to  eleven  home  guard  companies  to  pro 
ceed  to  the  scene  of  disturbance.  At  the  same 
time  he  telegraphed  to  Secretary  Stanton  for 
permission  to  detain  six  companies  of  the 
Seventh  Cavalry  in  southeastern  Iowa  until  the 
danger  was  past,  declaring  that  the  prompt 
suppression  of  this  uprising  would  discourage 
future  outbreaks  of  the  same  kind. 

Governor  Kirkwood  then  went  in  person  to 
Sigourney  and  shortly  after  his  arrival  made  a 
speech  from  the  court  house  steps.  No  detailed 

19 


274  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

report  of  that  speech  lias  been  preserved,  but  it 
is  safe  to  assume  that  it  was  marked  by  force- 
fulness  and  strong  expressions  of  determina 
tion,  rather  than  by  elegance  of  form  or 
soothing  words.  "I  will  make  an  example  of 
those  engaged  in  these  disturbances,  which  will 
forever  deter  others  from  engaging  in  like 
proceedings",  he  said  in  closing.  "I  say  what 
I  mean  and  I  mean  what  I  say."4*4  During  the 
night  the  home  guard  companies  from  Musca- 
tine,  Fairneld,  Washington,  Mt.  Pleasant,  and 
other  towns  began  to  pour  into  the  troubled 
region,  and  by  morning  the  "Copperhead" 
camp  was  almost  deserted.  Thus  ended  "The 
Skunk  River  War",  and  the  Governor  returned 
to  Iowa  City. 

"I  have  often  thought  of  the  speck  of  rebel 
lion  on  'the  Skunk'  and  the  part  we  all  took  in 
it",  was  the  letter  Kirkwood  received  nearly 
two  years  later  from  N.  P.  Chipman,  who  at  the 
time  of  the  disturbance  was  a  member  of  the 
staff  of  General  Curtis.  "There  are  many 
incidents  &  events  in  the  history  of  Iowa  to  be 
told  hereafter  by  the  Biographer  &  historian  of 
less  importance  than  that  little  campaign.  For 
your  promptness  &  vigor  in  quenching  that 
spark  the  people  of  Iowa  should  be  thankful. 
There  was  a  good  deal  more  danger  in  that 
rebel  camp  of  a  thousand  men  than  was  gener 
ally  thought."415 


FIRE  IN  THE  REAR  275 

Not  only  did  disloyalty  express  itself  in  vio 
lence  and  threatened  resistance  to  the  draft,  but 
it  also  took  the  form  of  abuse  of  the  Governor. 
This  was  not  mere  partisan  criticism  or  honest 
disagreement  on  questions  of  policy.  It  was  a 
deliberate  attempt  to  discredit  and  weaken  the 
influence  of  the  executive,  such  as  harassed 
Lincoln  throughout  the  war. 

"Sam.  Kirkwood  is  perambulating  the  State 
denouncing  Democrats  as  being  disloyal  and 
non-law-abiding ",  wrote  one  of  the  most  rabid 
anti-administration  editors.  "And  this  same 
corrupt,  political  mountebank,  in  a  public 
speech  made  by  him  in  Iowa  City  in  1860,  called 
his  God  to  witness  that,  'sooner  than  have  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Law  enforced  in  Iowa,  he  would 
suffer  his  right  arm  to  fall  from  its  socket. '  .  . 
.  .  Great  God,  to  what  lengths  can  brazen 
faced  impertinence  and  impudence  go !  Sam. 
Kirkwood  with  this  utterance  vivid  in  his  mem 
ory,  charging  Democrats  with  being  disloyal! 
Satan  rebuking  sin! --There  is  no  spot  in  the 
lowest  hell  deep  enough  and  hot  enough  to  fur 
nish  just  retribution  to  just  such  men  as  Sam. 
Kirkwood  and  his  coadjutors  North  and  South 
in  the  devilish  work  of  disrupting  the 
Union."416 

On  the  same  day  the  same  editor  charged 
Kirkwood  with  selling  hay  to  the  quartermaster 
of  the  Sixth  Iowa  Cavalry  at  twelve  dollars  a 


276  SAMUEL  J.  KIRK  WOOD 

ton,  when  a  person  whose  name  was  not 
divulged  had  offered  to  furnish  it  at  five  dollars 
a  ton.  "At  the  time  this  characteristic  speci 
men  of  thimble-rigging  took  place,'7  declared 
the  editor,  "the  market  value  of  hay  in  Iowa 
City  was  $6.00  per  ton.  Of  course,  Kirkwood 
didn't  know  the  price  of  hay.  No,  no!  He  sup 
posed  it  was  worth  $12.00  a  ton  —  of  course  he 
did.  Nobody  who  knows  Kirkwood  would  sup 
pose  for  a  moment  that  he  intended  to  swindle 
the  government.  Like  Caesar's  wife  should 
have  been,  he  is  above  suspicion  —  especially 
where  he  is  not  known.  Honest  Samivel!"417 

But  hatred  of  the  man  who  was  so  firm  in  his 
determination  to  hold  Iowa  true  to  the  Union 
found  expression  in  plans  for  measures  of  a 
more  desperate  nature  than  mere  criticism  and 
abuse.  "I  am  in  possession  of  a  fact  that  you 
should  know",  wrote  J.  M.  Hiatt  to  the  Gov 
ernor  early  in  April,  1863.  "In  the  Secret 
dens  of  Treason  in  this  State  your  assassina 
tion  is  canvassed  as  something  to  be  approved. 
Although  it  is  talked  of  cautiously  and  ambigu 
ously,  there  is  an  evident  desire  to  stimulate 
some  reckless  desperado  to  the  attempt."418 

"I  trust  your  information  on  this  point  is 
either  erroneous  or  exaggerated",  was  Kirk- 
wood's  reply  to  this  warning,  which  he  had  also 
received  from  other  sources.  "At  any  rate  I 
must  take  mv  chances  and  certainly  shall  not 


FIRE  IN  THE  REAR  277 

neglect  any  of  my  duties  for  fear  of  any 
danger.  "419 

Three  months  later  Kirkwood  received  an 
other  warning  that  a  plan  to  take  his  life  within 
six  weeks  had  been  perfected.420  That  he  was 
in  serious  danger  in  August  at  the  time  of  the 
disturbances  in  Keokuk  County  can  scarcely  be 
doubted.  As  he  was  speaking  to  the  crowd  at 
Sigourney  a  gray-haired  man  was  heard  to 
mutter  in  a  cool,  deliberate  manner,  "I'll  shoot 

the  d d  old  scoundrel."     After  the  speech 

Kirkwood  went  to  the  hotel  and  as  was  his 
wont,  seemed  to  have  cast  aside  the  worries  and 
responsibilities  of  his  official  position,  and 
engaged  in  a  lively  conversation  about  farm 
life  and  problems  with  the  men  who  gathered 
about  him.  During  the  course  of  this  conversa 
tion  a  friend,  from  his  seat  just  outside  the 
door,  saw  the  gray-haired  man  approach  the 
hotel,  carefully  examine  the  situation,  and  then 
go  away.  Later  he  returned,  accompanied  by 
four  other  men.  They  marched  directly  to  the 
door  of  the  hotel,  where  they  halted  and  gazed 
intently  into  the  room  without  speaking  a 
word.  But  as  soon  as  they  approached,  Kirk- 
wood's  friend  sprang  from  his  seat  and  stood 
in  the  door-way  with  his  body  between  the  sus 
picious  looking  squad  and  the  Governor.  After 
standing  motionless  for  a  few  moments,  the 
men  turned  and  passed  down  the  street. 


1>78  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

"There  was  no  explanation  given  by  the 
party  at  the  time,  and  no  especial  comment 
made  by  anyone",  said  the  man  who  thus 
shielded  Kirkwood  from  possible  danger.  "The 
circumstances  had  nearly  passed  from  my 
mind,  when,  several  months  afterwards,  I  was 
informed  that  those  men  had  come  prepared, 
and  it  was  their  intention  to  have  shot  the  Gov 
ernor,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  my  interference 
they  would  have  carried  their  intentions  into 
effect."421 


XXIV 

POLITICS  AND  PROSPECTS 

THE  spring  of  1863  brought  State  politics  again 
to  the  fore  in  Iowa.  At  the  general  election  of 
that  year  it  would  be  necessary  to  choose  a  suc 
cessor  to  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  as  Governor,  and 
it  was  a  matter  of  great  importance  that  a 
strong  and  loyal  man  should  be  selected.  For 
Kirkwood  it  was  a  time  when  important  deci 
sions  affecting  his  own  future  were  forced  upon 
him. 

During  the  second  week  in  March  the  news 
papers  contained  news  of  the  appointment  and 
confirmation  of  Governor  Kirkwood  as  Minister 
to  Denmark.  "It  takes  me  by  surprise ",  wrote 
the  Governor  to  a  friend.  "Our  delegation  in 
Congress  wrote  me  in  December  they  thought 
they  could  secure  the  appointment  for  Iowa  and 
asked  me  if  I  would  accept  it.  After  consider 
ing  the  question  I  declined  on  the  ground  I  did 
not  think  it  right  for  me  to  leave  Iowa  at 
present.  I  heard  nothing  more  of  it  until  on 
yesterday  the  news  of  nomination  &  confirma 
tion  came  in  the  papers.  It  may  not  be  correct. 
If  it  be  correct  what  should  I  do?"422 

279 


280  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOI) 

"The  President,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate,  having  appointed  you  to 
be  Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  to 
Denmark,"  was  the  letter  Kirkwood  received 
more  than  a  week  later  from  Secretary  Seward, 
"I  have  the  honor  to  announce  the  same  to  you 
and  to  request  that  you  will  inform  this  Depart 
ment  how  soon,  in  the  event  of  your  accepting 
the  appointment,  you  will  be  prepared  to  pro 
ceed  to  Copenhagen."423 

Thus  was  Governor  Kirkwood  compelled  to 
consider  a  question  which  he  had  supposed  was 
settled.  Letters  began  to  come  in  from  all  sides. 
"I  congratulate  you  upon  your  Confirmation  as 
resident  minister  to  Denmark",  wrote  William 
B.  Allison,  then  serving  his  first  term  in  the 
lower  house  of  Congress.  "I  regret  very  much 
that  you  are  called  to  leave  the  State  at  so 
critical  period  in  its  history.  Your  State  Ad 
ministration  has  been  successful,  and  impartial. 
You  have  won  the  esteem  &  affection  of  the 
people.  I  fear  very  much  that  we  shall  find 
difficulty  in  choosing  a  successor."4-4 

"I  don't  quite  understand  it,  this  certainly 
would  be  a  bad  time  for  you  to  give  over  the 
affairs  of  the  State  to  any  successor",  wrote 
Marcellus  M.  Crocker  from  cam])  in  the  far 
South.  "All  there  is  of  the  military  you  have 
made  and  understand  better  than  anybody  else. 
And  I  know  I  speak  the  sentiment  of  almost  all 


POLITICS  AND  PROSPECTS  281 

Iowa  soldiers  when  I  say  that  they  would 
regard  your  acceptance  of  any  position  that 
would  take  you  away  from  the  state  as  a  great 
misfortune.  ...  I  have  heard  it  said  by 
officers  here  that  it  was  a  scheme  of  Iowa  poli 
ticians  to  get  you  out  of  the  way.  I  do  not 
believe  that.  If  it  is  you  of  course  know  it,  and 
are  rather  too  old  to  be  disposed  of  in  any 
manner  not  agreeable  to  yourself.  "425 

"You  can  scarcely  imagine  how  much  grati 
fied  I  am  at  your  statement  that  you  &  many  of 
our  soldiers  would  prefer  my  remaining  at 
home",  was  Kirkwood's  reply  to  Crocker.  "If 
I  supposed  that  feeling  to  be  general  it  would 
decide  the  matter  with  me. ' '  At  the  same  time 
he  said  "I  am  well  satisfied  my  appointment 
was  not  made  to  get  me  'out  of  the  way7."426 

The  offer  was  one  which  had  many  attrac 
tions  for  Kirkwood,  as  is  revealed  by  his  cor 
respondence  with  the  Secretary  of  State.427 
But  the  letters  which  he  received  from  friends 
only  tended  to  strengthen  his  sense  of  duty  to 
the  people  of  Iowa.  And  so  about  the  middle  of 
April  he  finally  wrote  to  Secretary  Seward  that 
he  would  accept  if  he  could  first  serve  out  his 
term  as  Governor.  Otherwise  he  must  decline, 
and  he  gave  his  reasons.428  "You  intimate, 
however,  that  it  is  possible  these  reasons  may 
have  less  weight  with  you  some  few  months 
hence,"  was  Seward 's  reply,  "and  that  you 


282  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

may  then  perhaps  feel  at  liberty  to  accept  the 
appointment  and  proceed  to  Copenhagen  before 
the  close  of  your  gubernatorial  term.  Under 
the  circumstances,  I  see  no  objection  to  your 
holding  the  appointment  under  consideration 
for  a  few  months  at  least."4'29  Thus  the  ques 
tion  remained  open  until  January,  1864,  when 
Kirkwood  definitely  declined  the  appoint- 
ment.4;{" 

The  suspicion,  suggested  in  Crocker's  letter, 
that  the  appointment  to  the  Denmark  mission 
was  a  scheme  to  eliminate  Kirkwood  from  the 
political  arena  in  Iowa,  was  without  foundation. 
Nevertheless,  it  soon  made  it  necessary  for  the 
Governor  to  decide  another  question  concern 
ing  his  own  activities  after  laying  down  the 
duties  of  chief  executive.  The  General  Assem 
bly  which  would  meet  in  January,  1864,  would 
be  called  upon  to  choose  a  successor  to  James 
W.  Grimes  as  United  States  Senator,  and  it 
was  necessary  that  the  candidates  for  that 
position  should  be  known  before  members  of 
the  legislature  were  elected  in  the  fall  of  1863. 

"We  are  told  that  His  Excellency  has  finally 
determined  not  to  go  to  Denmark",  satirized  a 
radical  Democratic  editor  at  Iowa  City  in  April, 
1863.  "We  doubt  not  his  Royal  Highness  of 
Denmark  will  feel  relieved  when  the  tidings 
reach  him.  Once  upon  the  time  rottenness  in 
Denmark  bred  trouble.  For  fear  it  would  do  so 


POLITICS  AND  PROSPECTS  283 

again,  Samuel,  you  do  well  in  staying  at  home. ' ' 
In  the  same  paper  it  was  asserted  that  the 
"  fight  between  Kirkwood  and  Grimes,  for  the 
Senatorship,  waxes  hot  and  hotter.  Grimes 
tried  to  shelve  the  Governor,  by  shipping  him 
to  Denmark.  But  it  won't  work  —  Samuel 
smells  a  mice  and  declines  the  proffered  honor. 
Cruel  Samuel  —  cunning  Grimes.  "431 

There  is  ample  evidence  in  the  correspond 
ence  between  Kirkwood  and  Grimes  that  this 
insinuation  was  absolutely  false.432  Under  the 
circumstances  the  Governor  made  no  move  that 
could  in  any  way  be  interpreted  as  seeking  the 
position  in  opposition  to  Grimes.  "As  to  the 
Senatorship  I  am  not  taking  a  great  amount  of 
trouble",  he  wrote  to  a  friend  in  April.  "My 
own  candid  judgment  is  that  if  the  Gen.  Assem 
bly  will  look  only  to  the  public  interest  they  will 
reelect  Grimes.  His  experience,  and  the  posi 
tion  &  influence  he  has  in  the  Senate  are  worth 
a  great  deal  to  the  country  &  our  state  &  it 
would  be  some  time  before  either  Mr.  Kasson  or 
myself  could  fill  his  place.  These  considera 
tions  ought  to  control  but  whether  they  will  or 
not  is  by  no  means  certain."433 

At  the  same  time  the  holding  of  a  seat  in  the 
Senate  was  in  itself  a  prospect  by  no  means 
distasteful  to  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood.  "I  would 
like  a  seat  in  the  U.  S.  Senate  and  under  ordi 
nary  circumstances  would  use  all  honorable 


284  SAM  TEL  J.  KFRKWOOT) 

means  to  secure  it",  lie  wrote  to  William  Duane 
Wilson  in  July.  He  believed  the  reelection  of 
Grimes,  however,  to  be  the  best  thing  for  the 
State  and  Nation,  and  therefore  asked  that  no 
efforts  be  made  in  his  behalf.  "I  am  also  frank 
to  say",  he  continued,  "that  it  has  cost  me 
some  regrets  to  reach  this  conclusion,  for  I  am 
pretty  sure  my  own  strength  for  the  position 
will  never  again  be  as  great  as  it  now  is."4:u 
In  the  same  tone  he  wrote  to  William  G. 
Thompson  a  month  later.  "I  certainly  would 
like  a  seat  in  the  U.  S.  Senate  but  not  well 
enough  to  thrust  myself  in  at  a  time  like  this 
before  one  who  I  think  can  do  better  service 
than  I  can.  I  expect  Warren  will  fight  Grimes 
to  the  bitter  end,  but  for  God's  sake  don't  let 
your  former  hostility  to  Grimes  lead  you  now 
to  support  Warren."4-'55 

The  sincerity  of  these  statements  is  attested 
by  the  unbroken  friendship  between  the  Senator 
and  the  Governor.  "I  accept  your  kind  con 
gratulations  at  my  re-election",  wrote  Grimes 
in  January,  1864.  "For  your  aid,  so  efficient  & 
so  disinterested  in  my  behalf,  receive  my 
thanks."436 

As  far  as  the  governorship  was  concerned 
there  was  never  any  serious  thought  that  Kirk- 
wood  would  again  be  a  candidate.  The  anti- 
third-term  bogey  stood  in  the  way,  even  if  IK* 
had  desired  a  renomination.  "I  cannot  agree 


POLITICS  AND  PROSPECTS  285 

to  run  again  for  Governor",  he  wrote  to 
Crocker  early  in  April.  "My  running  might 
jeopardize  the  loyal  ticket  and  really  the  labor 
of  the  office  is  too  onerous."437 

Soldiers  were  the  most  popular  men  for  party 
candidates  at  this  time  and  for  several  years 
afterward.  Thus  the  Republicans  in  State  con 
vention  at  Des  Moines  on  June  17th  chose 
William  M.  Stone  as  their  candidate  for  Gov 
ernor.  At  the  same  time  they  tendered  "to 
Hon.  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  the  cordial  thanks  of 
the  loyal  people  of  Iowa  for  the  able,  fearless 
and  patriotic  discharge  of  his  duties,  during  the 
two  terms  he  has  held  the  office  of  Governor  of 
the  State."438  The  Democrats  selected  as  their 
standard  bearer  James  M.  Tuttle,  also  a  soldier 
who  had  made  a  splendid  record  for  himself. 

Because  he  was  not  a  candidate  for  any  office 
and  because  of  his  peculiar  ability  as  a  speaker 
Governor  Kirkwood  was  in  a  position  to  render 
very  effective  service  in  the  campaign  during 
the  summer  and  early  fall  of  1863.  The  de 
mands  were  many  and  he  responded  as  often  as 
he  could  spare  time  from  his  official  duties.  "I 
propose  to  spend  some  two  weeks  at  one  trip  in 
the  campaign  this  fall,  besides  some  flying  visits 
to  particular  points",  he  wrote  to  Thomas  F. 
Withrow  in  July.  "It  would  suit  me  very  well 
to  put  in  my  two  weeks  in  the  North  Eastern 
part  of  the  State.  I  was  never  there  but  once 


286  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

as  a  kind  of  tender  to  Grimes  in  1857  when 
Lowe  was  running.  In  1859  my  wife's  sickness 
prevented  me  from  filling  my  appointments  in 
that  region".439  The  desire  expressed  in  this 
letter  was  gratified.  Late  in  August  he  set  out 
for  northeastern  Iowa  and  he  did  not  return  to 
Iowa  City  until  September  21st.  At  Dubuque, 
where  disloyal  sentiments  had  been  many  times 
expressed,  he  had  an  opportunity  to  make  an 
unmistakable  statement  of  his  intentions  in  case 
any  resistance  or  violence  should  appear  in  that 
region.  "You  remember",  he  is  reported  to 
have  said,  "that  the  draft  commenced  in  New 
York  the  other  day  and  a  mob  was  raised  to 
stop  it,  and  threats  have  been  made  that  the 
same  thing  would  be  done  here  in  Iowa  —  would 
be  done  here  in  Dubuque.  And  I  wanted  to  talk 
here  in  Dubuque  just  long  enough  to  tell  you 
that  it  will  be  a  very  bad  thing  to  start  a  mob 
here  in  opposition  to  the  draft.  It  is  for  your 
own  interest  that  no  mob  is  started  here.  I  tell 
you  I  will  see  to  it  that  any  mob  that  is  started 
shall  be  put  down  for  you !  You  see  that  I  am 
not  only  a  plain-looking  man,  but  a  plain- 
speaking  man;  and  I  intend  to  speak  plainly." 
"What  did  the  soldiers  from  Keokuk  County 
think",  he  asked  after  speaking  of  the  proud 
name  the  Iowa  troops  had  given  to  the  State, 
"when  they  learned  that  their  homes  had  been 
in  jeopardy,  and  that  their  mothers,  and  wives, 


POLITICS  AND  PROSPECTS  287 

and  daughters,  and  sisters  were  made  to  tremble 
for  their  lives,  unprotected  because  they  had 
given  up  those  who  once  cared  for  them  to  the 
service  of  their  country?  Such  a  burning  shame 
shall  not  disgrace  our  State  and  grieve  the 
hearts  of  our  noble  soldiers  again  without  pun 
ishment,  dire,  swift  and  sure,  reaching  the 
traitor  that  engages  in  it.  The  homes  and  fami 
lies  and  property  of  those  who  have  gone  to 
fight  their  country's  battles  must  be  protected; 
and  may  my  God  forget  me  in  my  hour  of 
sorest  need  if  I  do  not  see  to  it  that  they  are 
protected."  In  conclusion  he  told  them  how  the 
uprising  in  Keokuk  County  had  been  quelled. 
"It  commenced  on  Saturday.  I  received  word 
of  the  position  of  affairs  on  Tuesday,  and  by 
Wednesday  night  I  had  five  companies  and  one 
piece  of  artillery  on  the  ground,  and  by  Thurs 
day  night  five  more  companies  and  another 
piece  of  artillery;  and  there  was  not  a  blank 
cartridge  there.  And  I  tell  you  if  it  becomes 
necessary  for  me  to  come  here  to  Dubuque  on 
the  same  errand,  I  shall  not  bring  a  blank 
cartridge  here. " 

"I  cannot  permit  a  day  to  elapse",  wrote 
William  Duane  Wilson,  "without  telling  you 
the  intense  satisfaction  I  had  in  reading  your 
100  pounder  speech  at  Dubuque.  Its  telling 
effect  upon  the  Copperheads  in  the  State  will  be 
equal  to  a  standing  army  of  5000  men,  well 
armed.  "44° 


L>SS  SAMUEL  J.  KIRK  WOOD 

At  other  places  where  disloyal  sentiment  was 
not  so  pronounced,  the  Governor  spoke  in  the 
manner  which  had  made  him  so  popular  in 
previous  campaigns.  Driving  home  his  points 
by  the  use  of  homely  illustrations  from  the 
daily  life  of  the  people,  with  an  occasional 
humorous  anecdote,  he  stirred  the  patriotism  of 
his  hearers  and  appealed  to  them  to  forget  all 
differences  in  the  one  common  object  of  putting 
down  the  Confederacy.441  The  response  in  most 
cases  was  warm  and  whole-hearted,  and  Kirk- 
wood  returned  to  Iowa  City  well  satisfied  with 
the  progress  of  the  campaign.442  "Tuttle  will 
I  think  be  badly  beaten",  he  wrote  to  a  friend. 
"I  am  very  sorry  he  has  taken  the  course  he 
has.  He  is  too  good  a  man  to  be  sacrificed  by 
such  a  damned  hard  lot  of  scurvy  poli 
ticians".443 

The  Governor's  prediction  was  amply  ful 
filled.  At  the  election  in  October  the  Demo 
cratic  candidate  was  defeated  by  about  thirty 
thousand  votes  and  William  M.  Stone  was 
elected  Governor  of  Iowa.  "Please  accept  my 
thanks  for  your  able  and  efficient  efforts  in 
behalf  of  our  ticket  during  the  recent  canvass", 
the  successful  candidate  wrote  to  Kirkwood  a 
few  days  later.  "I  am  convinced  that  your 
presence  in  the  field,  and  your  labors  contrib 
uted  very  much  toward  our  splendid  success  in 
the  State,  and  I  trust  I  shall  not  prove  insen- 


POLITICS  AND  PROSPECTS  289 

sible  to  the  obligations  of  gratitude  under  which 
your  uniform  kindness  has  placed  me."444 

Early  in  December  the  Governor  went  to  Des 
Moines  in  order  to  show  his  successor  "the 
hang  of  the  house  "445  and  to  prepare  his  last 
biennial  message  to  the  legislature.  During  the 
preceding  two  years  he  had  of  necessity  left  the 
administration  of  civil  affairs  largely  to  sub 
ordinates  and  other  State  officers.  But  he  had 
kept  in  touch  with  the  work,  and  on  January  12, 
1864,  he  was  able  to  present  to  the  General 
Assembly  an  excellent  survey  of  the  conditions 
and  needs  of  the  State.  In  a  lengthy  message 
he  detailed  the  situation  in  the  various  State 
departments  and  institutions,  recommended 
measures  to  make  their  work  more  effective, 
discussed  military  affairs  during  the  preceding 
two  years,  and  presented  his  views  on  national 
policy.  In  closing  he  gave  high  praise  to  the 
Iowa  troops  for  their  loyalty  and  bravery  on  the 
field  of  battle.  "It  may  perhaps  be  permitted 
me  to  say",  were  his  last  words,  "that  I  trust 
that  when  the  history  of  the  gallantry  and  devo 
tion  of  these  men  shall  be  written,  the  position 
I  have  held  will  of  necessity  connect  my  name 
humbly,  and  not  discreditably,  with  theirs,  and 
that  this  trust  affords  compensation  for  some 
what  of  toil  and  care  which  have  attended  that 
position,  and  should  be  sufficient  to  satisfy  an 
ambition  greater  than  mine."446 

20 


1290  SAMUEL  J.  KIHKWOOD 

On  January  14th  William  M.  Stone  was 
inaugurated  as  Governor  of  Iowa,  and  not  long 
afterward  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kirkwood  returned  to 
Iowa  City.  "No  former  Governor  of  Iowa  has 
had  a  tithe  of  the  labor  and  responsibility  of 
office  of  Gov.  Kirkwood,"  was  the  comment  of  a 
friendly  editor,  "and  no  one  has  left  the  office 
so  much  entitled  to  the  plaudit  of  'well  done 
good  and  faithful  servant.'  ....  lie  now 
rests  from  his  labors,  and  will  enjoy  the  sweets 
of  home  for  a  season.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed, 
the  State  will  consent  to  let  him  remain  perma 
nently  in  private  life.  We  notice  some  papers 
speak  of  him  as  a  candidate  for  the  U.  S.  Senate, 
before  the  present  Legislature.  AVe  feel  author 
ized  to  say,  such  is  not  the  fact.  He  will  claim 
the  quiet  of  private  life  for  a  longer  term,  but, 
when  sufficiently  recovered  from  the  toils  of  his 
long  and  arduous  labors,  we  doubt  not  the  State 
will  call,  in  a  voice  he  will  not  feel  at  liberty  to 
disregard.  Until  then,  may  be  enjoy  that  rest 
he  so  richly  earned."447 

Even  more  prophetic  was  a  letter  written  by 
Eliplialet  Price.  "No  Governor  of  Iowa,"  lie 
wrote,  "while  acting  as  such,  extended  the  area 
of  his  personal  acquaintance  so  widely  over  the 
State  as  yourself.  Men  and  women  everywhere, 
will,  as  time  rolls  on,  enlarge  the  story  of  their 
acquaintance  with  you,  with  many  manifesta 
tions  of  pride,  and  the  child  of  to-day  will  be 


POLITICS  AND  PROSPECTS  291 

pointed  out  by  the  next  generation,  as  the  Gray- 
haired  man  who  in  childhood  had  talked  with 
Gov.  Kirkwood.  The  History  of  the  Rebellion 
cannot  pass  you  by,  upon  its  pages  you  will  live 
through  those  future  centuries  that  shall  pre 
serve  the  existence  of  man/'448 


XXV 

THE  LIFE  OF  A  WAR  GOVERNOR 

WHEN  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  was  inaugurated 
as  Governor  of  Iowa  in  January,  1860,  he  did 
not  assume  a  position  of  aloofness  from  his 
fellow-beings.  To  be  sure,  his  activities  during 
the  succeeding  four  years  were  largely  pre 
scribed  by  law  and  by  the  extraordinary  de 
mands  made  by  the  war.  But  the  elevation  to 
the  office  of  chief  executive  did  not  place  him  in 
a  charmed  circle  where  he  was  free  from  the 
hopes  and  disappointments,  the  pleasures  and 
sorrows,  and  the  physical  weariness  to  which 
other  men  were  subject.  One  of  the  secrets  of 
his  success  wras  his  gladness  on  every  possible 
occasion  to  cast  aside  the  worries  and  responsi 
bilities  of  his  official  station,  and  talk  on  familiar 
terms  with  soldiers,  farmers,  or  business  men 
about  the  common  affairs  of  every  day  life 
which  concerned  them  most.  lie  was  keenly 
interested  in  people. 

Between  1861  and  1864  his  thoughts  and 
duties  centered  about  the  war,  and  his  loyalty  to 
the  Union  cause  and  the  administration  never 
wavered.  At  the  same  time  he  was  not  immune 

292 


LIFE  OF  WAR  GOVERNOR  293 

to  discouragement  and  despair  when  his  posi 
tion  gave  him  exceptional  opportunities  to 
observe  the  blunders  and  inefficiency  in  the  con 
duct  of  the  war.  * '  I  feel  like  you  '  invigorated ' 
&  like  '  thanking  God  with  all  my  heart/  but  I 
have  felt  at  times  a  little  like  ' swearing'  too 
while  absent ",  he  wrote  to  a  friend  after 
returning  from  Fort  Donelson  in  March,  1862. 
"In  God's  name  what  infernal  fascination  is 
there  about  this  demon  of  slavery  that  causes 
men  high  in  authority  to  sacrifice  the  lives  of 
our  noble  &  brave  boys  for  its  preservation? 
That  is  just  what  they  are  doing."449 

His  feeling  toward  General  McClellan  and  his 
resentment  because  of  the  lack  of  credit  and 
attention  given  to  the  western  armies  were 
unhesitatingly  expressed  to  President  Lincoln 
at  the  time  of  the  Altoona  Conference  in  Sep 
tember,  1862.  A  few  weeks  later,  to  Kirkwood's 
delight,  McClellan  was  removed  and  his  position 
given  to  General  Burnside.  "After  the  elec 
tions  in  the  northern  states  I  felt  discouraged", 
Kirkwood  wrote  to  a  friend  on  November  14th, 
"but  since  the  President  has  put  a  man  in  Gen. 
McClellan 's  place  who  will  seek  to  fight  I  am 
again  encouraged.  All  we  need  is  to  have  fight 
ing  Generals  —  men  who  will  allow  our  people 
to  strike  and  we  are  safe."  "Things  did  look 
gloomy,  but  all  things  work  for  the  best",  he 
wrote  to  William  B.  Allison.  "If  the  elections 


294  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

had  #om»  differently  McClellan  would  still  com 
mand —  all  would  be  quiet  on  the  Potomac 
until  another  year  &  then  our  doom  as  a  nation 
was  sealed.  "4r>" 

The  use  of  negro  troops  was  another  subject 
on  which  Kirkwood  felt  deeply.  The  govern 
ment  was  very  reluctant  to  adopt  such  a  policy, 
partly  for  fear  of  its  effect  in  the  border  States. 
But  Governor  Kirkwood  took  a  different  view. 
"I  have  but  one  remark  to  add",  he  said  in 
closing  a  letter  to  General  Halleck  in  August, 
1862,  "and  that  in  regard  to  negroes  fighting  - 
it  is  this  —  AVhen  this  war  is  over  &  we  have 
summed  up  the  entire  loss  of  life  it  has  imposed 
on  the  country  I  shall  not  have  any  regrets  if  it 
is  found  that  a  part  of  the  dead  are  niggers  and 
that  all  are  not  white  men."4r>1  Later  he  de 
clared  that  if  the  negroes  were  "willing  to  pay 
for  their  freedom  by  fighting  for  those  who 
make  them  free  I  am  entirely  willing  they 
should  do  so.  ...  I  really  cannot  under 
stand  or  appreciate  the  policy  that  insists  that 
all  the  lives  lost  and  all  the  constitutions  broken 
down  to  preserve  the  country  shall  be  those  of 
white  men  when  black  men  are  to  be  found  will 
ing  to  do  the  work  and  take  the  risks.  "4r>2 

Difference  of  opinion  with  regard  to  policies, 
however,  did  not  weaken  Kirkwood 's  firm  sup 
port  of  Lincoln  and  his  administration.  Nor 
was  his  view  of  the  main  issue  of  the  war 


LIFE  OF  WAR  GOVERNOR  295 

obscured  by  the  assertions  often  made,  espe 
cially  after  the  issuance  of  the  emancipation 
proclamations,  that  the  war  was  a  struggle  to 
free  the  slaves.  "I  supported  the  administra 
tion  in  conducting  the  war,  before  it  struck  at 
slavery, "  he  wrote  in  March,  1863,  "I  support 
it  now  when  it  strikes  at  slavery  and  I  shall 
continue  to  support  it  if  it  ceases  to  strike  at 
slavery."453 

Kirkwood's  views  were  nowhere  more  clearly 
expressed  than  in  a  long  letter  to  a  brother, 
whose  attitude  toward  the  war  was,  to  say  the 
least,  one  of  discouragement.  "It  might  just  as 
truly  be  said",  he  wrote,  "that  this  war  is 
waged  by  our  Government  to  capture  Richmond, 
or  Charleston,  or  Savannah  or  Mobile  or  Vicks- 
burg,  or  to  open  the  Mississippi  river  or  to 
enforce  the  blockade  of  the  rebel  coast  as  to  say 
it  is  waged  to  free  the  negroes.  The  govern 
ment  is  trying  to  do  all  these  things  and  yet  it 
is  not  true  that  either  of  them  is  the  object  of 
the  war.  They  are  each  and  all  of  them  used  as 
means  to  the  great  end,  the  suppression  of  the 
rebellion  and  the  restoration  of  the  Union.  .  . 
.  .  You  say  we  have  fought  two  years  and 
have  not  yet  succeeded  —  true  but  our  fathers 
fought  seven  years  to  give  us  what  we  are  seek 
ing  to  preserve,  and  although  there  were  faint 
hearts  in  those  days  who  when  the  clouds  looked 
dark  &  gloomy  cried  out  as  faint  hearts  do  now 


296  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

'no  use'  'no  use',  they  persevered  and  tri 
umphed.  Are  we  their  legitimate  sons  or  are  we 
bastards?" 

"You  say  Gen.  McClellan  was  removed",  he 
continued.  "True  and  he  should  have  been 
removed  before  he  was.  With  his  mode  of  war 
fare  even  seven  years  would  not  bring  us  to  the 
end  of  the  war.  The  rebellion  is  not  stronger 
today  than  it  was  twelve  months  ago  . 
and  if  our  people  will  be  true  to  themselves,  and 
their  posterity,  to  their  Government  and  their 
God  we  will  finally  put  down  this  accursed 
rebellion  and  restore  peace  and  prosperity  to 
our  land.  If  this  is  not  done,  then  ruin  awaits 
us  —  a  large  standing  army  to  guard  our  fron 
tier  south,  continued  wars,  and  a  further  break 
ing  up  among  the  States,  until  we  reach  the 
condition  of  Mexico."454 

While  Governor  and  Mrs.  Kirkwood  had  no 
children  of  their  own,  they  did  not  escape  the 
personal  sorrow  and  bereavement  which  the 
war  brought  to  thousands  of  homes  in  Iowa  and 
throughout  the  land.  Two  nephews  were  in  the 
army,  and  between  the  Governor  and  these  two 
boys  there  passed  many  letters.  In  the  spring 
of  1862  one  of  these  nephews,  William  W. 
Kirkwood,  was  taken  sick  in  camp  at  Fort 
Donelson,  and  was  given  a  furlough.  Upon 
reaching  his  uncle's  home  in  Iowa  City  he  be 
came  worse  and  for  weeks  hovered  between  life 


LIFE  OF  WAR  GOVERNOR  297 

and  death.  "Four  days  ago  I  did  not  expect 
him  to  live  twenty- four  hours ",  wrote  Kirk- 
wood  to  Grimes  in  May.  "But  he  still  lives  & 
is  slightly  better.  He  may  possibly  recover.  I 
can't  leave  him  at  present  or  I  would  go  to 
Washington.  "455  The  young  man  finally  recov 
ered  and  returned  to  his  regiment. 

The  other  nephew,  Samuel  Kirkwood  Clark, 
was  the  adopted  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kirkwood. 
He  was  taken  by  them  at  the  death  of  his  mother 
when  he  was  five  years  old,  and  he  grew  up  in 
their  home  beloved  by  them  as  though  he  had 
been  their  own  child.  Though  only  a  lad  of 
eighteen  years  he  enlisted  in  the  cavalry  early 
in  the  war.  On  the  following  New  Year's  Day 
his  uncle  sent  him  a  commission  as  second 
lieutenant.  "Be  a  'good  boy'  and  do  your  duty 
manfully,"  he  wrote,  "and  you  will  always  be 
sure  of  the  affection  of  your  uncle".  Later 
young  Clark  was  promoted  to  the  position  of 
adjutant  in  the  Twenty-fifth  Iowa  Infantry, 
under  Colonel  George  A.  Stone.  In  the  battle  of 
Arkansas  Post  in  January,  1863,  he  was 
severely  wounded  and  about  a  month  later  he 
died  in  a  hospital  at  St.  Louis,  where  his  uncle 
and  aunt  spent  much  time  at  his  bedside  during 
his  illness.456 

The  grief  of  the  Governor  was  not  unmingled 
with  a  solemn  pride  in  the  record  made  by  his 
nephew.  "You  speak  of  the  many  brave  men 


L><)8  SAMUEL  J.  KIRK  WOOD 

who  liave  lost  thoir  lives  in  this  war",  he  wrote 
to  his  brother  who  was  inclined  to  question  the 
justification  of  the  sacrifice.  "No  man  regrets 
this  loss  more  than  I  do.  I  have  myself  lost  my 
adopted  son  who  died  of  a  wound  received  at 
Arkansas  Post.  He  was  as  noble,  as  true 
hearted,  as  brave  a  boy  as  has  lost  his  life  in 
this  struggle.  I  loved  him  dearly  and  his  loss 
has  been  a  sore  trial  to  me  for  it  leaves  me  in 
my  old  age  without  any  one  to  lean  upon,  but 
while  I  mourn  his  loss  as  one  that  cannot  be 
repaired,  if  I  had  another  or  a  dozen  such  I 
would  not  withhold  one  of  them  from  the  strug 
gle.  Men's  lives  are  given  them  to  be  useful  to 
their  fellow  men  and  in  my  judgment  in  no  way 
can  lives  be  more  profitably  used  than  in  pre 
serving  what  cost  our  fathers  so  dearly  to 
transmit  to  us."4r'7 

Very  little  time  for  the  quiet  enjoyment  of 
homelife  was  given  to  Kirkwood  during  the 
years  of  the  war.  Long  hours  were  spent  in  the 
office  when  he  was  in  Iowa  City,  and  much  of  the 
time  he  was  away  from  home.  Long  trips  to 
Washington  and  the  East,  visits  to  the  soldiers 
in  the  field,  and  journeys  to  various  points  in 
the  State  consumed  much  time  and  were  a 
severe  tax  on  his  strength.  Several  months 
each  year  were  spent  in  Des  Moines  while  the 
legislature  was  in  session;  and  on  most  of  these 
occasions  Mrs.  Kirkwood  accompanied  the  Gov- 


LIFE  OF  WAR  GOVERNOR  299 

ernor.458  Des  Moines  by  this  time  was  a  much 
better  town  than  when  Kirkwood  first  saw  it; 
but  the  journey  thence  from  Iowa  City  was  still 
not  only  long  and  tiresome  but  beset  with 
dangers.  By  January,  1863,  travelers  might  go 
by  rail  as  far  as  Grinnell,  but  for  the  remainder 
of  the  trip  they  were  at  the  mercies  of  the  stage 
coach.  On  his  way  to  the  capital  that  winter 
the  Governor  was  twice  thrown  out  on  the 
ground  when  the  stage  upset,  Fortunately  he 
escaped  with  no  more  serious  injury  than  some 
flesh  bruises.459 

The  mere  clerical  work  which  Governor  Kirk- 
wood  was  obliged  to  perform  was  by  no  means 
light.  He  had  a  military  secretary  and  a  private 
secretary  to  whom  he  dictated  letters,  with 
instructions  "to  make  sense  where  there  was 
none",  and  who  attended  to  a  large  mass  of 
correspondence  without  his  personal  direction. 
Nevertheless,  he  wrote  thousands  of  letters  with 
his  own  hand,  many  of  them  letters  of  four,  six, 
or  even  eight  large  and  closely  written  pages.460 
"You  think  you  have  cause  to  complain  that 
your  former  letters  were  answered  by  my  secre 
tary  &  not  by  me",  he  told  a  friend.  "Let  me 
explain.  All  letters  marked  ' private'  or  ' confi 
dential'  are  opened  only  by  me  but  it  is  not  in 
my  power  to  answer  all  of  them  in  person.  I 
could  not  do  half  the  writing  necessary  if  I  took 
all  mv  time  to  it.  I  endorse  on  the  backs  of  the 


300  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

letters  a  short  memorandum  of  what  the  answer 
is  to  be  &  have  one  of  my  clerks  write  it  out."461 
The  severe  strain  was  too  much  for  even  his 
sturdy  constitution,  and  in  the  summer  of  1863, 
after  returning  from  the  camps  around  Vicks- 
burg  he  was  taken  sick  and  confined  to  his  bed 
for  two  weeks.462  Worry,  lack  of  sleep,  the 
exacting  and  wearying  nature  of  his  duties,  and 
exposure  while  on  many  hard  journeys  —  all 
had  their  effect.  And  so  when  his  successor 
had  been  chosen  he  wrote  to  his  good  friend, 
Jed  Lake:  "I  will  soon  be  out  of  office  thank 
God.  I  am  the  tiredst  man  in  Iowa."463 


XXVI 

A  SHORT  TEEM  AS  SENATOR 

EARLY  in  February,  1864,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kirk- 
wood  returned  to  Iowa  City  to  resume  once 
more  the  less  strenuous  ways  of  private  citizens. 
Before  many  months  had  passed  they  moved 
from  Coralville  to  a  new  and  comfortable  home, 
built  on  a  small  tract  of  land  adjoining  Iowa 
City  on  the  southeast.  It  was  a  home  much 
more  to  their  liking  than  was  the  house  in 
Coralville,  and  here  for  the  first  time  since 
moving  to  Iowa  they  were  able  to  enjoy  the 
quiet  home  life  which  they  had  known  in  Ohio.464 
The  building  of  the  house  and  attention  to 
long-neglected  business  affairs  occupied  most  of 
Kirkwood's  time  during  the  year  1864.  The 
active  direction  of  the  mill  or  farm  no  longer 
appealed  to  him,  and  so  after  an  interruption  of 
about  ten  years  he  returned  to  the  practice  of 
law.  Early  in  1865,  he  entered  into  partnership 
with  his  brother-in-law,  J.  E.  Jewett.  The  new 
firm  announced  its  readiness  to  practice  in  the 
courts  of  the  State  or  of  the  United  States; 
while  special  attention  would  be  given  to  col 
lections.465 

301 


302  SAMUEL  J.  KIRK  WOOD 

Meanwhile,  freedom  from  the  burdens  of 
office  did  not  mean  entire  withdrawal  from 
public  service.  Mrs.  Kirkwood  was  chosen  a 
member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  Society  formed  in  Iowa  City  in 
March,  1863;  and  later  she  was  appointed  to 
solicit  contributions  for  the  purpose  of  carry 
ing  on  the  work  of  the  organization.4^  It  was 
also  natural  that  the  ex-Governor  should  be 
much  in  demand  as  a  speaker.  In  February,  as 
president  of  the  State  Historical  Society,  he 
made  a  speech  in  acceptance  of  the  flag  of  the 
Twenty-second  Iowa  Infantry.  On  May  18th  an 
Iowa  City  newspaper  announced  that  "Govs. 
Stone  and  Kirkwood  will  address  the  people  of 
Johnson  County,  from  the  steps  of  the  Univer 
sity,  this  evening  at  the  tap  of  the  Drum,  with 
reference  to  the  hundred  days  call."  On  a  Sun 
day  early  in  September  he  was  scheduled  to 
speak  at  the  Bethel  church  in  North  Bend  in 
behalf  of  the  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home.407 

During  the  political  campaign  of  1864  Kirk 
wood  also  responded  to  many  calls  for  help  on 
the  stump.  The  most  urgent  of  these  calls  came 
from  William  B.  Allison,  who  was  a  candidate 
for  reelection  to  Congress.  On  the  back  of 
Allison's  letter  asking  for  assistance  Kirkwood 
wrote  a  brief  note  and  sent  it  on  to  Hiram  Price 
of  Davenport.  "I  must  go  up  &  help  Allison  so 
you  must  get  on  without  me",  he  said.408  Later 


SHORT  TERM  AS  SENATOR     303 

he  made  several  campaign  speeches  in  and 
around  Iowa  City.  On  April  19,  1865,  at  Iowa 
City  he  delivered  an  eloquent  "  funeral  oration  " 
in  memory  of  Abraham  Lincoln.409  During  this 
time  there  was  some  quiet  talk  about  the  sena 
torial  contest  which  would  occur  when  the 
legislature  convened  in  January,  1866,  and 
Kirkwood  received  assurance  of  support  if  he 
should  decide  to  be  a  candidate.470  But  the 
election  was  a  long  way  off,  and  so  during  the 
fall  and  winter  he  apparently  gave  little  thought 
to  the  question. 

There  was,  however,  a  sudden  awakening  of 
interest  in  the  senatorship,  early  in  the  spring 
of  1865.  On  March  9th  James  Harlan  was 
appointed  Secretary  of  the  Interior  by  Presi 
dent  Lincoln.  Thus  a  successor  to  Harlan  must 
be  chosen,  not  only  for  the  full  term  beginning 
in  March,  1867,  but  also  for  the  unexpired 
portion  of  the  term  ending  at  that  time.471 
Hardly  had  the  news  of  Harlan 's  appointment 
reached  Iowa  when  Jacob  Rich  wrote  to  Kirk- 
wood  telling  of  the  efforts  he  had  been  making 
to  create  sentiment  in  favor  of  his  appointment 
by  Governor  Stone  to  fill  the  vacancy.472 

The  prospect  of  the  senatorship  was  just  as 
attractive  to  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  at  this  time 
as  it  had  been  in  1863,  when  he  had  refused  to 
be  a  candidate  against  Grimes.  Now  there  was 
no  reason  why  he  should  not  seek  the  position. 


304  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

"My  name  is  being  used  by  some  of  my  friends 
in  connection  with  the  vacant  U.  S.  Senatorship, 
with  my  consent,"  he  wrote  to  Azro  B.  F. 
Hildreth  on  March  27th,  "and  I  am  naturally 
anxious  that  their  efforts  should  be  successful. 
.  .  .  My  object  in  writing  you  is  to  learn 
the  position  you  will  occupy,  if  you  have  as  yet 
determined  what  it  shall  be.  You  know  me 
pretty  thoroughly;  you  know  my  past  political 
action ;  and  it  would  be,  I  think,  useless  even  if 
it  were  proper  for  me  to  enter  upon  an  argu 
ment  upon  the  subject.  .  .  .  It  is  but  frank 
and  fair  to  say  that  I  should  feel  deeply  grati 
fied  to  receive  your  support,  because  I  know 
your  influence  is  powerful,  but  more  because  of 
the  gratification  I  should  feel  at  knowing  you 
thought  me  worthy  of  the  high  position  named. 
But  I  say  with  equal  frankness  that  if  your 
sense  of  public  duty  compels  you,  or  induces 
you,  to  prefer  another  to  myself,  that  fact  shall 
make  no  change  in  my  regard  for  you."473 

Interest  now  centered  in  the  question  of 
whether  or  not  Governor  Stone  would  make  an 
appointment.  "I  will  say  here  to  you",  he 
wrote  to  Kirkwood  late  in  March,  "what  I  have 
not  said  to  any  one  else,  &  which  you  will  con 
sider  as  strictly  confidential,  and  that  is,  should 
the  vacancy  occur  and  I  should  conclude  to  fill 
it  in  advance  of  the  Legislature,  I  have  never 
doubted  in  my  own  mind  that  you  would  be  the 


SHORT  TERM  AS  SENATOR     305 

man.  .  .  .  There  is  no  necessity  for  your 
friends  stirring  up  a  fight  with  me,  and  if  they 
are  satisfied  to  leave  'well  enough  alone',  there 
will  be  no  trouble."474 

As  the  weeks  went  by  it  became  evident  that 
Governor  Stone  did  not  intend  to  make  an 
appointment  until  after  the  Republican  State 
Convention,  at  which  time  he  would  be  a  candi 
date  for  renomination.  He  admitted  as  much 
in  a  letter  to  Kirkwood  early  in  June.  He  had 
decided  to  make  an  appointment,  but  not  until 
he  was  "out  of  the  woods"  himself.  "I  do  not 
think  it  advisable  for  you  to  be  at  the  State 
convention,"  he  wrote,  "as  it  would  help  to 
give  color  to  the  assumption  that  there  is  a 
bargain  and  sale  between  us,  and  sway  the 
friends  of  other  gentlemen  against  me.  Yet 
this  matter  may  be  quietly  and  well  understood 
by  your  friends  without  your  presence.  .  .  . 
There  will  be  no  necessity  for  your  friends  to 
say  anything  about  the  appointment  at  the  con 
vention,  and  their  reticence  on  the  subject  will 
tend  to  keep  others  quiet  and  avoid  undue 
agitation  of  the  question."  "You  will  be  Sen 
ator  and  I  Governor  again",  he  added,  "if  our 
friends  understand  each  other,  and  are  prudent 
and  discreet  in  their  management.  There  must 
be  no  conflict  between  them,  and  there  is  no 
occasion  for  any.  .  .  .  Mark  all  your  let 
ters  to  me  ' private'."475 

21 


306  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

About  this  same  time  Governor  Stone  gave 
Marcellus  M.  Crocker  to  understand  that  he 
would  appoint  Kirkwood  after  the  State  con 
vention  was  over.  But  within  two  weeks 
Crocker  became  doubtful,  for  Stone  had  later 
intimated  to  him  that  he  might  not  make  the 
appointment  until  after  the  election.  "I  do  not 
know  but  that  if  he  waits  until  after  the  elec 
tion",  he  wrote,  "he  may  conclude  to  be  a 
candidate  himself  and  go  back  to  his  old  policy 
of  not  appointing  at  all."4™  This  prediction 
proved  true,  at  least  so  far  as  the  failure  to 
make  any  appointment  was  concerned.  What 
ever  Stone's  attitude  toward  Kirkwood  may 
have  been  during  the  summer  of  1865,  it  was 
anything  but  friendly  when  the  legislature  met 
in  the  following  January.  "Knowing  that  you 
feel  some  interest  in  the  coining  contest  for 
U.  S.  S.  before  the  Legislature",  he  wrote  to 
William  Penn  Clarke  of  Iowa  City,  "I  can  but 
ask  if  you  will  be  at  Fort  Des  Moines  during 
the  early  part  of  the  Session.  There  will  be 
several  outside  numbers  from  this  place;  all 
interested  to  defeat  S.  J.  and  I  would  be  glad  to 
know  that  you  would  heartily  cooperate."477 

Meanwhile  Kirkwood  and  his  friends  were 
not  basing  all  their  hopes  on  securing  an 
appointment  by  the  Governor.  The  contest 
before  the  legislature  would,  after  all,  be  the 
main  problem.  Mr.  Kirkwood  received  many 


SHORT  TERM  AS  SENATOR     307 

promises  of  hearty  support  from  old  friends. 
There  was  a  movement  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  State  in  favor  of  William  B.  Allison,  on  the 
ground  that  that  portion  of  the  State  had  been 
neglected,  but  Allison  refused  to  be  consid 
ered.478  Kirkwood  had  proposed  that  the  short 
term  be  conceded  to  Allison.  "We  did  not  urge 
your  claims  because  you  were  a  cleverer,  more 
social,  more  companionable  fellow  than  Allison, 
for  we  don't  think  you  are",  wrote  Jacob  Rich 
in  reply  to  this  proposition.  "Nor  because  we 
liked  you  personally  any  better  than  the  Col 
onel,  for  we  don't.  .  .  .  But  the  ground  we 
took,  the  only  ground  that  we  could  take,  the 
ground  that  it  was  our  pride  and  our  strength 
to  take,  was  that  your  selection  was  best  for  the 
public  interests,  for  the  State  and  the 
Nation."479 

"You  need  not  write  to  me  on  the  Senatorship 
unless  you  want  to,"  wrote  Adjutant  General 
Baker,  "for  I  am  for  you  'to  the  death'.  I 
should  go  for  you  at  any  rate  against  any  man. ' ' 
From  Washington,  D.  C.,  came  a  letter  from 
L.  D.  Ingersoll  saying  that  "I  suspect  I  shall 
have  to  go  to  work  to  help  send  you  here.  But 
you  must  promise  not  to  wear  that  old  gray 
wammus."  Another  admirer,  who  was  a  mem 
ber  of  the  legislature,  wrote  that  "I  have  been 
so  much  in  the  habit  of  voting  for  you  that  I 
don't  see  how  I  could  break  the  habit  so  early 
as  the  year  of  grace  1866.  "48° 


308  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Many  were  the  letters  of  advice  and  warning 
which  Kirkwood  received  from  Senator  Grimes. 
"Do  not  fail  to  have  a  large  outside  delegation 
of  your  friends  at  Des  Moines  at  the  commence 
ment  of  the  session  to  remain  until  the  elec 
tion,"  he  wrote  early  in  October,  "and  let  as 
many  of  them  be  military  men  as  possible. 
Don't  fail  in  this."481  Later,  when  it  became 
evident  that  James  Harlan,  finding  the  Cabinet 
position  unpleasant,  was  anxious  to  be  returned 
to  the  position  from  which  he  had  so  lately 
resigned,  Grimes  was  among  the  most  out 
spoken  in  his  disapproval.  "I  have  no  hostility 
to  Harlan  —  I  advised  him  not  to  leave  the 
Senate,"  he  told  Kirkwood,  "but  when  he  did 
leave  it  £  voluntarily  pledged  himself  to  you  & 
thus  induced  you  to  become  a  candidate  for  his 
succession  I  think  fair  play  entitles  you  to  the 
place."482 

As  the  time  for  the  convening  of  the  General 
Assembly  approached  the  optimism  of  Kirk 
wood  's  friends  gradually  turned  to  uncertainty. 
Besides  Kirkwood  and  Harlan,  there  were  many 
other  aspirants  for  the  position:  John  A. 
Kasson,  S.  R.  Curtis,  William  M.  Stone,  Fitz 
Henry  Warren,  Asahel  W.  Hubbard,  and  others 
each  had  a  small  group  of  earnest,  active  sup 
porters.  C.  C.  Nourse  wrote  late  in  October 
that  Mrs.  Kirkwood  "must  come  over  [to  Des 
Moines]  next  winter  &  bring  all  the  'Parisian 


SHORT  TERM  AS  SENATOR     309 

style '  she  can  put  on  for  it  isn't  fair  to  have 
you  fight  crinoline."***  This  was  a  reference  to 
the  activities  of  Mrs.  Kasson  in  support  of  her 
husband's  candidacy. 

But  anxiety  in  the  Kirkwood  camp  was  occa 
sioned  chiefly  by  the  efforts  which  were  being 
made  to  secure  the  reelection  of  James  Harlan. 
"  About  one  half  of  Mount  Pleasant  is  in  the 
Interior  Department  &  all  at  work  rallying  the 
methodists  to  the  support  of  Harlan ",  wrote 
Grimes  early  in  December.  "You  can't  labor 
too  hard  between  this  &  the  election."  A  week 
later  Jacob  Eich  wrote  from  Washington.  "I 
cannot  be  so  cheerful  and  confident  of  your  suc 
cess  as  I  was  when  I  came  here",  he  said,  "I 
have  heard  so  much  about  what  Harlan  is  doing, 
the  ropes  he  is  pulling,  the  patronage  he  is 
wielding,  and  the  power  he  is  using,  to  accom 
plish  his  election,  that  I  feel  a  good  deal  down 
in  the  mouth."  "You  must  'get  up  and  dust', 
or  you  will  be  laid  out",  was  the  warning  which 
came  from  J.  N.  Dewey  about  the  same  time. 
"Harlan  is  certainly  playing  a  very  strong 
hand."484 

This  was  the  situation  when  the  legislature 
met  in  January,  1866.  The  lobby  of  the  Savery 
Hotel  was  crowded,  not  only  with  legislators, 
but  also  with  numerous  outsiders  "forming 
that  indispensable  part  of  any  well  regulated 
legislative  body,  'The  Third  House'."485  The 


310  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

senatorial  contest  was  the  chief  topic  of  interest 
during  the  opening  days  of  the  session.  The 
contest  had  narrowed  down  until  it  was  recog 
nized  that  no  one  but  Kirkwood  and  Harlan  had 
any  chance  of  winning.  Charges  were  flung 
back  and  forth,  secret  conferences  were  held, 
and  each  side  anxiously  awaited  the  outcome. 

The  Republican  caucus  was  held  some  time 
during  the  first  week  of  the  session.  On  the  first 
ballot  for  a  nominee  for  the  long  term  James 
Harlan  received  fifty  votes,  Samuel  J.  Kirk- 
wood  forty-four,  and  several  other  candidates 
received  small  votes.  The  contest  was  close 
and  the  result  was  still  uncertain.  The  second 
ballot  gave  Harlan  fifty- seven  and  Kirkwood 
forty-six,  but  even  then  no  candidate  had  a 
majority  of  the  votes  in  the  caucus.  On  the 
third  ballot,  however,  Harlan  received  sixty- 
three  votes  and  became  the  party  nominee. 
Next  came  the  choice  of  a  candidate  for  the 
short  term.  On  the  first  ballot  Kirkwood 
received  eighty  votes,  while  the  highest  number 
received  by  any  of  his  competitors  was 
sixteen.480 

The  Republicans  were  overwhelmingly  in 
control  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  conse 
quently  the  caucus  nomination  meant  certain 
election.  On  January  13th  the  two  houses  met 
in  joint  convention  and  by  large  majorities 
elected  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  and  James  Harlan 


SHORT  TERM  AS  SENATOR     311 

to  represent  the  State  in  the  United  States 
Senate,  the  former  until  March  4,  1867,  and  the 
latter  for  six  years  after  that  date.487 

Senator  Kirkwood  very  soon  set  out  for 
Washington,  and  upon  his  arrival  there  took 
lodgings  at  the  Kirkwood  House  which  stood  at 
the  corner  of  Twelfth  Street  and  Pennsylvania 
Avenue.488  On  January  20th  his  credentials 
were  received  and  filed  in  the  Senate.  Four 
days  later  he  was  presented  by  his  colleague, 
James  W.  Grimes,  administered  the  oath  of 
office,  and  assigned  a  seat.  Later  he  was  given 
a  place  on  the  committees  on  pensions  and 
public  lands.489 

Coming  into  the  Senate  as  a  new  man  when 
the  session  was  well  under  way,  it  was  natural 
that  the  junior  Senator  from  Iowa  should  take 
a  relatively  small  part  in  the  proceedings. 
While  he  was  by  no  means  a  silent  member,  he 
seldom  participated  in  debate,  and  when  he  did 
speak  it  was  usually  very  briefly.  On  one 
occasion  he  objected  to  counting  negroes  in 
determining  the  basis  of  representation  in  Con 
gress  unless  they  w^ere  allowed  to  vote.  A 
Maryland  Senator  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  women  were  included  in  the  enumeration 
and  yet  they  were  not  allowed  to  vote.  "We 
should  feel  some  objection,"  was  Kirkwood 's 
reply,  "if  we  felt  in  regard  to  negroes  as  the 
Senator  does,  to  having  our  women  balanced  off 


312  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

all  the  time  by  negroes  in  Maryland."490  He 
also  opposed  a  bill  to  restrict  homesteads  on 
the  public  lands  in  the  South  to  eighty  acres,  on 
the  ground  that  it  would  discourage  immigra 
tion  and  would  retard  development  in  that 
section.  "Although  I  may  not  agree  with  some 
Senators  in  regard  to  some  matters  concerning 
these  seceded  States/'  he  said,  "I  certainly  do 
not  desire  to  do  them  any  injustice;  I  do  not 
desire  to  take  any  action  that  will  injure  their 
material  interests".491 

A  bill  amending  the  Pacific  Railroad  law  and 
a  proposal  to  subsidize  the  building  of  a 
Niagara  ship  canal  were  other  matters  which 
received  considerable  attention  from  Senator 
Kirkwood.492  Especially  was  he  opposed  to 
placing  an  internal  revenue  tax  on  reapers, 
mowers,  threshing-machines,  and  other  farm 
machinery.  "The  Senator  from  Maine,  I  am 
satisfied,  cannot  understand  the  condition  of 
our  people  with  regard  to  these  matters",  he 
declared.  "It  is  substantially  the  same  as  tax 
ing  men  in  our  State.  There  is  not  one  acre  out 
of  a  hundred  of  our  wheat  that  is  cut  in  any 
other  way  than  with  a  reaper.  There  is  not  one 
acre  out  of  a  hundred  [of  our  hay]  that  is  cut 
in  any  other  way  than  with  a  mower.  We  have 
not  the  men  in  our  State  to  collect  our  crops 
without  these  machines.  If  you  would  give  us 
your  superabundant  population  to  do  the  work, 


SHORT  TERM  AS  SENATOR     313 

we  should  be  content;  but  these  machines  are 
used  by  us  instead  of  men."493 

It  would  not  be  possible  from  any  of  Kirk- 
wood's  remarks  in  the  Senate  during  this 
session  to  determine  his  attitude  toward  recon 
struction.  He  may  not  have  been  sure  in  his 
own  mind,  and  certainly  the  many  letters  which 
he  received  from  citizens  of  Iowa  did  not  offer 
him  any  assistance  in  determining  the  wishes  of 
his  constituents.  On  the  one  hand  there  were 
many  letters  like  that  written  by  Henry  Dunlavy 
from  near  Bloomfield.  "You  know  that  rad 
icalism  has  failed  in  every  Government  on 
earth ",  he  wrote.  "The  south  is  in  the  Union 
as  states,  and  the  party  that  attempts  to  make 
the  southern  states  dependent  Territories  will 
all  go  under  as  certain  as  the  old  Federal,  Whig, 
K.  N.  and  the  late  Democratic  party  have.  .  .  . 
Prepare  yourself  and  astonish  the  natives  in 
favor  of  the  President's  restoration  policy,  lay 
aside  party  for  the  sake  of  your  country.  Walk 
right  into  Sumner  &  Co.  You  can  beat  any  of 
them  in  debate. ' '  On  the  other  hand,  there  were 
many  who  took  the  opposite  view.  "I  fear  that 
Mr.  Johnson  is  clearly  against  us  as  Repub 
licans,  and  yielding  to  the  old  slave  power", 
wrote  an  Iowa  City  minister.  "This  I  deeply 
regret.  I  therefore  hope  by  all  fair  means  the 
Senate  and  House  will  both  stand  firm."494 

Congress  did  not  adjourn  until  the  last  week 


SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

in  July.  Scarcely  had  Senator  Kirkwood 
reached  his  home  in  Iowa  City  when  he  received 
from  the  chairman  of  the  Republican  State 
Central  Committee  a  list  of  speaking  appoint 
ments,  beginning  at  Newton  on  September  10th 
and  ending  at  Iowa  City  on  October  6th.  The 
Senator  was  informed  that  lie  could  go  by  rail 
to  Newton,  and  from  there  by  stage  to  Des 
Moines,  where  a  team  would  be  waiting  to  take 
him  into  the  southwestern  part  of  the  State. 
After  filling  engagements  in  that  region  he 
would  be  brought  by  way  of  Indianola  to  Des 
Moines  on  September  26th.  From  there  he 
would  go  by  railway  to  Oskaloosa,  where  a  team 
would  take  him  to  Sigourney  and  Washington, 
after  which  he  could  return  to  Iowa  City  by 
train.495 

This  strenuous  trip  was  almost  too  much  for 
Mr.  Kirkwood,  and  he  had  barely  recovered  his 
strength  when  it  was  necessary  to  return  to 
Washington  for  the  short  session  of  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Congress.  Mrs.  Kirkwood  now  accom 
panied  her  husband  and  they  took  quarters  on 
Sixth  Street.4i>G 

The  subjects  during  this  three-month  session 
of  Congress  which  elicited  the  greatest  amount 
of  discussion  from  Senator  Kirkwood  were  the 
admission  of  Nebraska  into  the  Union,  the 
improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  Missis 
sippi  Kiver,  and  the  tariff.  While  he  was  sorry 


SHORT  TERM  AS  SENATOR     315 

that  the  people  of  Nebraska  had  drawn  up  a 
Constitution  containing  the  word  "white"  he 
was  not  willing  that  their  desire  for  statehood 
should  be  thwarted  on  that  account.497  The 
removal  of  obstructions  to  the  navigation  in  the 
Mississippi,  and  especially  the  building  of  a 
canal  around  the  Des  Moines  rapids,  was  a 
project  of  great  importance  to  the  people  of 
Iowa,  and  he  labored  diligently  to  secure  the 
necessary  appropriation.498  He  favored  a  low 
tariff  on  such  commodities  as  lumber,  the 
supply  of  which  in  the  United  States  was 
rapidly  becoming  exhausted;  and  a  high  tariff 
on  coal,  wheat,  and  such  other  commodities  as 
could  be  raised  or  produced  for  an  indefinite 
period  in  this  country  in  sufficient  quantities  to 
meet  the  needs  of  home  consumption.499 

The  debate  on  the  admission  of  Nebraska 
brought  Kirkwood  into  conflict  with  Charles 
Sumner,  who  had  referred  to  the  Nebraska 
Constitution  as  being  odious  because  it  con 
tained  the  word  "white".  Now  it  happened 
that  the  same  objectionable  word  still  remained 
in  the  Constitution  of  Iowa,  and  Senator  Kirk- 
wood  felt  that  the  Massachusetts  Senator  was 
also  casting  reflections  on  that  instrument. 
Therefore  he  told  Sumner  that  he  "should 
remember  that  there  are  other  States  in  this 
Union  besides  Massachusetts;  and  when  he 
speaks  of  particulars  wherein  those  States  do 


316  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

not   agree    with   Massachusetts   he    should   be 
careful  of  the  terms  he  applies  to  them.'7 

"May  I  ask  the  Senator  if  he  considers  that 
provision  in  the  constitution  of  Iowa  right  or 
wrong?",  inquired  Sumner. 

"I  conceive  it  to  be  the  business  of  the  people 
of  Iowa  and  not  the  business  of  the  Senator 
from  Massachusetts'7,  was  the  reply.  "The 
people  of  Iowa  will  deal  with  it  in  their  own 
way  when  they  see  fit;  and  as  a  loyal  people 
they  have  the  right  to  do  so ;  and  so  I  apprehend 
have  the  people  of  Nebraska."500 

This  passage  of  words  created  no  little  stir 
in  Iowa.  "I  wrote  you  substantially  that  I 
thought  you  would  fail  in  the  Senate  because  I 
did  not  think  you  could  make  yourself  damned 
fool  enough  to  please  the  long  haired  fools  both 
male  and  female  who  control  the  Republican 
party",  was  the  comment  of  Reuben  Noble. 
"One  year  has  proved  the  truth  of  my  predic 
tions.  You  ventured  to  say  'None  of  your  busi 
ness'  to  the  Representative  man  of  the  long 
haired  gentry,  and  the  Miss  Nancys  of  the  femi 
nine  gender,  and  forthwith  the  pack  are  let 
loose  upon  you.  You  are  dead  politically  for 
the  present." 

"I  ask  the  privilege  of  congratulating  you 
upon  &  of  thanking  you  for,  your  decisive  & 
successful  course  on  the  Nebraska  question  - 
as  also  for  your  plucky  tilt  with  His   Serene 


SHORT  TERM  AS  SENATOR     317 

Theorist  Sumner",  wrote  George  C.  Tichenor. 
"Notwithstanding  the  promptitude,  indeed  in 
decent  haste  with  which  certain  Journals  have 
so  severely  criticised  your  action  in  the  prem 
ises,  you  will  find  when  the  time  comes,  that  the 
men  of  power  in  the  state  will  be  ready  in  a 
practical  manner  to  evince  their  endorsement  of 
you.1'501 

The  Thirty-ninth  Congress  adjourned  on 
March  3,  1867,  and  soon  afterward  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood  returned  to  Iowa  City,  where  he  was 
to  remain  in  private  life  for  a  period  of  eight 
vears. 


XXVII 

LAWYER  AND  RAILROAD  PRESIDENT 

THE  record  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood's  activities 
during  the  next  three  years  is  very  meager. 
Apparently  he  did  not  return  at  once  to  the 
practice  of  the  law,  nor  did  he  engage  in  any 
enterprise  which  brought  him  into  public  atten 
tion.  During  the  political  campaigns  of  1867 
and  1868  he  made  a  number  of  speeches  in  and 
around  Iowa  City.502  In  March,  1868,  he  took  a 
prominent  part  in  the  organization  of  a  "Grant 
Club"  at  Iowa  City,  thereby  indicating  his 
hearty  support  of  the  hero  of  Vicksburg  as  a 
candidate  for  the  presidency.503  About  this 
same  time  "the  voters  of  Iowa  City  township, 
'just  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,'  or  as  a  sort  of 
practical  joke  on  the  ex-governor,  elected  him 
to  the  office  of  road  supervisor.  But  he  took  it 
in  good  part,  went  promptly  and  qualified,  and 
served  his  term  out  faithfully  and  well."504 

Meanwhile  the  "War  Governor"  was  not  for 
gotten  by  his  friends.  "When  are  you  coining 
to  Des  M.?",  wrote  Governor  Samuel  Merrill  in 
December,  1868.  "Our  old  latch  string  'hangs 
out'  &  you  &  wife  are  invited  --We  live  in  great 

318 


RAILROAD  PRESIDENT  319 

style  &  you  will  please  put  on  your  Sunday 
clothes."505  One  year  later  Merrill  appointed 
Kirkwood  as  one  of  the  Iowa  delegates  to  a 
convention  to  be  held  at  St.  Louis  on  October 
20,  1869,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the 
expediency  of  removing  the  national  capital  to 
some  point  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.506 

But  there  was  one  painful  episode  during  this 
period  which  threatened  to  disturb  a  close  and 
long-standing  friendship.  In  May,  1868,  James 
W.  Grimes  was  one  of  the  seven  Republicans 
who  in  the  United  States  Senate  showed  their 
statesmanship  by  voting  against  the  impeach 
ment  of  Andrew  Johnson.  Immediately  there 
was  an  exhibition  of  the  fickleness  of  public 
favor.  Senator  Grimes  was  assailed  as  a 
traitor  to  his  party  and  to  the  country.  Many 
of  those  who  had  been  among  his  greatest  ad 
mirers  now  turned  against  him  and  disowned 
him  in  language  expressive  of  the  deepest  con 
tempt.  Everywhere  among  Republicans  there 
was  intense  indignation;  and  the  members  of 
the  party  in  Iowa  City  were  no  less  outspoken 
than  those  in  other  sections  of  the  State. 

"Mr.  Grimes  has  received  the  resolutions  of 
your  Grant  Club,  condemning  his  course,  and 
demanding  that  he  should  resign  his  position  as 
Senator",  wrote  Jacob  Rich  to  Kirkwood  from 
Washington  on  May  24th.  "He  has  also  noticed 
that  you  were  present  and  made  a  speech  at  that 


320  SAMUEL  J.  K1KKWOOD 

meeting,  and  also  the  statement  that  the  reso 
lutions  were  unanimously  adopted.  I  don't 
think  that  anything  that  has  been  said  and  done 
has  hurt  him  much  more  than  the  idea  that  you, 
who  ought  to  know  how  conscientious  and 
honest  he  is  in  his  public  duties,  should  join  in 
the  popular  howl  which  you  know  it  is  so  easy 
to  raise,  and  from  which  you  yourself  have 
suffered  to  some  extent.  I  tell  him  I  will  not 
believe  that  you  have  done  so.  ...  He 
never  was  clearer  in  his  duty  in  any  vote  he  has 
ever  given,  and  reflection  has  but  fortified  him 
in  the  belief  that  the  country  will  yet  thank  him 
for  the  vote."507 

Unfortunately  there  is  no  record  of  the 
speech  made  by  Mr.  Kirkwood  before  the  Grant 
Club  in  Iowa  City,  nor  is  there  any  way  of 
determining  the  exact  nature  of  his  personal 
feelings  toward  Senator  Grimes.  It  is  evident, 
however,  that  the  report  which  so  wounded 
Grimes  was  greatly  exaggerated  if  not  entirely 
erroneous.  "I  was  much  pleased  to  hear  from 
you,"  wrote  Jacob  Rich  on  June  3rd,  "and 
pleased,  also,  to  find  that  I  was  not  mistaken  as 
to  the  course  which  I  supposed  you  had  taken 
in  the  matter  in  question.  I  felt  sure  that  you 
would  not,  for  an  instant,  fortify  unreasonable 
passion  and  prejudice,  and  would  be  no  party  to 
the  aspersions  upon  the  character  and  integrity 
of  men  whom  vou  know  so  well  as  Fessenden, 


RAILROAD  PRESIDENT  321 

Trumbull  and  Mr.  Grimes,  however  much  you 
might  differ  with  them  in  the  conclusions  to 
which  they  have  come."508 

As  late  as  May,  1869,  according  to  the  mutual 
admirer  of  the  two  men,  the  apparent  desertion 
on  the  part  of  Kirkwood  remained  "one  of  the 
sorest  things  connected  with  the  matter "  to 
Senator  Grimes.  Three  months  later  Mr.  Rich 
had  an  opportunity  for  a  personal  conversation 
with  the  Senator  in  Paris,  France,  where  he 
was  spending  some  time  in  the  hope  of  regain 
ing  his  lost  health.  "I  spoke  to  him  of  your 
feeling  of  regret  that  anything  should  have 
come  up  to  estrange  you",  wrote  Rich.  "I  told 
him  the  circumstances  of  that  meeting  as  you 
told  them  to  me,  and  I  hope  they  made  him 
better  satisfied  than  formerly  as  to  your  entire 
friendliness  to  him  at  that  time.  I  am  satisfied, 
indeed,  that  the  statement  had  that  effect."509 
In  February,  1872,  Senator  Grimes  died  at  his 
home  in  Burlington.  There  is  no  record  of  a 
definite  reconciliation  between  the  two  men. 

Under  these  circumstances  Mr.  Kirkwood 
must  have  found  much  satisfaction  in  a  letter 
which  he  received  several  years  later  from  Mrs. 
Grimes,  in  reply  to  his  acknowledgment  of  a 
copy  of  a  memorial  volume  containing  tributes 
to  Senator  Grimes.  "I  did  not  know  of  the  loss 
of  friendship  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Grimes,  of 
which  you  speak",  she  wrote.  "I  do  not  re- 

22 


322  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

member  ever  to  have  heard  him  speak  of  you 
in  any  way  to  give  me  the  impression  of  any 
Joss  of  regard  for  you,  while  I  do  remember  the 
respect  and  friendship  which  had  made  your 
name  a  familiar  &  honored  one  to  me.  It  is  as 
the  friend  of  Mr.  Grimes  that  I  would  remember 
you  &  that  I  wished  you  to  accept  the  book  that 
I  have  sent  you, —  and  your  letter  convinces  me 
that  it  was  proper."510 

In  January,  1870,  Mr.  N.  H.  Brainerd,  now 
the  editor  of  an  Iowa  City  newspaper,  an 
nounced  that  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  had  opened 
a  law  office  on  Washington  Street  in  the  room 
in  the  rear  of  the  Iowa  City  National  Bank. 
"We  can  heartily  recommend  him  to  those  who 
dare  to  trust  one  of  his  youth  and  inexperi 
ence",  was  the  facetious  comment  of  the  erst 
while  military  secretary.  "His  lack  of  years  is 
becoming  less  every  day  and,  for  one  of  his  age, 
we  consider  him  very  promising.  We  hope  he 
will  be  given  business  enough  to  encourage  him 
in  his  efforts  to  gain  a  position  in  life."511 

At  about  this  same  time  Mr.  Kirkwood  em 
barked  in  another  enterprise  which  occupied  a 
considerable  portion  of  his  attention  during  the 
next  four  or  five  years.  Early  in  December, 
1869,  he  was  appointed  as  a  delegate  from 
Johnson  County  to  a  railroad  convention  to  be 
held  at  Muscatine  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  that 
month.51-  Three  months  later,  in  April,  1870, 


RAILROAD  PRESIDENT  323 

it  was  announced  that  a  company  had  been 
formed  to  construct  a  railroad  from  some  point 
in  Clinton  or  Cedar  County  through  Iowa  City 
and  Sigourney  to  some  point  on  the  Missouri 
River.  At  the  head  of  the  list  of  the  five  direc 
tors  organizing  this  company  was  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood.  A  meeting  of  all  persons  interested 
in  the  proposed  road  was  to  be  held  at  Iowa 
City  on  May  3rd,  at  which  time  additional 
directors  would  be  chosen  and  the  plan  more 
fully  explained.513 

The  meeting  was  held  according  to  appoint 
ment  and  was  attended  by  enthusiastic  delegates 
from  various  communities.  Mr.  Kirkwood  pre 
sided  and  later  at  a  meeting  of  the  directors  he 
was  elected  president  of  the  company,  which 
was  known  as  the  Iowa  &  Southwestern  Rail 
road  Company.514  The  summer  was  spent  in 
making  plans  and  stimulating  public  interest. 
The  project  met  with  great  favor.  When  Kirk 
wood  went  over  the  route  of  the  proposed  road 
in  December,  1870,  he  was  given  a  hearty  re 
ception.  "He  was  passed  from  place  to  place, 
and  feasted  on  the  fat  of  the  land.  As  he  came 
to  a  town  horsemen  were  sent  in  every  direction 
to  call  out  the  people,  and  with  a  few  hours 
notice  a  large  assembly  would  listen  to  his 
remarks  in  the  evening,  the  papers  were  drawn 
up,  and  they  went  right  to  work  obtaining 
names  to  their  petition  for  submitting  the  ques- 


324  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

tion  of  a  tax  to  a  vote  of  the  people."515  In 
many  townships  taxes  were  voted  for  the  pur 
pose  of  aiding  a  project  from  which  so  many 
benefits  were  expected. 

Early  in  1871  an  arrangement  was  made  with 
the  Iowa  Southwestern  Construction  Company 
for  the  construction  of  the  road.  The  incorpor- 
ators  of  this  company  were  F.  E.  Hinckley  of 
Chicago,  president,  Charles  H.  Toll,  James  B. 
Edmonds,  J.  B.  Grinnell,  and  M.  T.  Close,  and 
the  issuance  of  $500,000  worth  of  capital  stock 
was  authorized.510  In  May  it  was  announced 
that  the  cars  were  to  be  running  from  Chicago, 
through  Clinton,  to  Iowa  City  at  the  latest  by 
July  1,  1872,  and  possibly  by  January  1st;  while 
they  would  reach  Oskaloosa  by  December  31st. 
"We  will  soon  see  the  dirt  flying",  was  the 
confident  prediction.  In  October  the  statement 
was  made  that  work  was  in  progress  all  along 
the  line  and  that  ground  was  being  broken  in 
Scott  County.  Later  Kirkwood  received  assur 
ances  that  the  road  would  be  ready  for  opera 
tion  at  the  time  agreed  upon.517 

But  there  were  many  delays.  The  coming  of 
winter  halted  the  work.  Mr.  Hinckley  was 
interested  in  other  railroad  projects  which 
claimed  much  of  his  attention.  In  fact  the  his 
tory  of  the  project  during  the  next  three  years 
was  one  of  alternating  hope  and  despair.  The 
name  of  the  road  was  changed  several  times, 


RAILROAD  PRESIDENT  325 

and  there  were  periods  when  the  prospects 
seemed  good  for  the  completion  of  the  road. 
Mr.  Kirkwood  and  other  men  also  became  inter 
ested  in  a  coal  mine  in  Monroe  County.  Then 
new  difficulties  arose.  Funds  could  not  be 
easily  secured.  Other  railroads  entered  a  por 
tion  of  the  territory  through  which  this  line  was 
projected.  Finally  the  road  was  leased  to  the 
Burlington,  Cedar  Rapids,  and  Northern  Rail 
road  Company.  Ten  years  later,  after  many 
vicissitudes,  trains  were  put  into  operation  be 
tween  Clinton  and  Elmira,  where  connection 
was  made  with  a  short  line  to  Iowa  City.518 

While  this  ill-fated  venture  was  engrossing 
much  of  his  attention  and  causing  him  no  end 
of  worry,  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  did  not  remain 
entirely  aloof  from  political  affairs.  In  the 
spring  of  1871,  laying  aside  the  resentment 
which  he  no  doubt  still  felt  toward  James 
Harlan,  he  wrote  the  Senator  a  letter  in  praise 
of  his  stand  in  support  of  President  Grant 
against  the  attacks  of  Schurz  and  Sumner. 
6  '  Your  generous  letter  of  the  5th  inst.  has  been 
received,  for  which  allow  me  to  express  my 
heartfelt  thanks  ",  was  Senator  Harlan 's  reply. 
'  *  The  attack  on  the  President  was  so  completely 
inexcusable,  as  to  make  it  difficult  to  listen  to  it 
with  patience.  I  tried  to  do  what  seemed  to  be 
a  plain  duty  in  the  premises, —  and  I  will  not 
disguise  the  fact  that  your  commendation  gives 
me  great  personal  pleasure.  "319 


326  SAMUEL  J.  KIRK  WOOD 

In  Juno  of  the  same  year  Kirkwood's  name 
was  suggested  as  a  possible  candidate  for  the 
Republican  nomination  for  Governor;  but  the 
movement  apparently  did  not  pass  beyond  the 
stage  of  suggestion.  He  was  a  candidate  for 
State  Senator  that  fall,  however,  and  was  de 
feated  by  his  Democratic  opponent,  Samuel  H. 
Fairall.320 

Then  came  the  bitter  Harlan- Allison  contest 
for  the  senatorship,  beginning  in  earnest  in  the 
fall  of  1871  and  culminating  in  the  election  of 
William  B.  Allison  by  the  legislature  in  1872. 
Mr.  Kirkwood  was  strongly  urged  by  such  men 
as  Grenville  M.  Dodge  and  Jacob  Rich  to  use 
his  influence  in  favor  of  Allison;  while  he  was 
asked  by  Allison  himself  to  take  charge  of  that 
candidate's  forces  in  the  contest.  On  the  other 
hand,  George  G.  Wright  advised  Kirkwood  to 
keep  out  of  the  fight  entirely,  since  he  was  the 
only  man  in  the  State  who  could  defeat  Harlan 
in  case  it  appeared  that  Allison  would  not  be 
successful.5-1  What  part  Kirkwood  played  in 
this  spectacular  campaign  can  not  be  gauged, 
but  it  is  certain  that  his  warm  friendship  for 
William  B.  Allison  enlisted  his  sympathies,  if 
not  his  active  labors,  in  support  of  the  Dubuque 
candidate. 

Three  years  now  passed  during  which  Kirk- 
wood's  name  seldom  appeared  in  connection 
with  public  affairs,  except  that  in  1874  he  be- 


RAILROAD  PRESIDENT  327 

came  a  member  and  chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  Iowa  State  Agricultural  Col 
lege  at  Ames.  But  he  was  not  forgotten  by 
influential  friends.  About  the  first  of  January, 
1875,  he  received  several  telegrams  asking  him 
if  he  would  accept  an  appointment  as  Minister 
to  Turkey,  which  position  the  members  of  the 
Iowa  delegation  in  Congress  were  confident 
they  could  secure  for  him.  "Salary  $7,500", 
wrote  William  B.  Allison  a  few  days  later. 
"The  duties  must  be  very  light  from  the  fact 
that  we  have  very  little  business  with  Turkey. 
.  .  .  If  we  should  be  beaten  in  76  the  term 
would  not  be  long  &  you  would  have  a  most 
interesting  and  delightful  voyage.  ...  I 
hope  you  will  see  your  way  clear  to  accept 
it."522  Mr.  Kirkwood's  reply  to  this  offer  has 
not  been  preserved,  but  it  is  very  evident  that 
he  declined  with  less  hesitation  than  when  he 
rejected  the  mission  to  Denmark  ten  years 
before.  Other  prospects  no  doubt  had  much 
weight  in  determining  his  choice. 


XXVIII 

GOVERNOR  AGAINST  His  WILL 

THE  prospects  which  made  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood 
so  little  inclined  to  accept  the  mission  to  Turkey 
in  January,  1875,  were  political  in  character. 
It  would  be  the  duty  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
Iowa  in  1876  to  elect  a  United  States  Senator  to 
take  the  place  then  occupied  by  George  G. 
Wright,  who  had  let  it  be  known  that  he  would 
not  be  a  candidate  for  a  second  term.  Now  if 
there  was  any  public  office  which,  during  his 
entire  career,  Mr.  Kirkwood  really  desired  to 
hold  it  was  the  senatorship.  The  brief  taste  of 
service  in  the  Senate  in  1866  and  1867  had  not 
satisfied  that  desire.  In  1870  he  was  not  a 
candidate  and  in  1872  his  friendship  for  Allison 
prevented  him  from  entering  the  race,  even  had 
he  wished  to  do  so.  But  now,  after  eight  years 
of  private  life,  there  was  no  reason  why  his 
aspirations  should  not  rest  on  the  senatorship. 
During  the  early  months  of  the  year  1875, 
however,  there  came  intimations  of  a  movement 
which  was  quite  contrary  to  his  wishes.  From 
various  quarters  there  came  suggestions  that 
the  old  War  Governor  should  head  the  Repub- 

328 


THIRD  TER^I  AS  GOVERNOR          329 

lican  State  ticket  in  the  campaign  that  fall. 
"Are  you  willing  to  be  a  candidate  for  Gov 
ernor  !M,  asked  A.  J.  Felt  of  Waterloo  late  in 
March.  "I  am  confident  that  more  Republicans 
in  Iowa  are  for  'old  Sam  Kirkwood,'  than  for 
any  other  man.  ...  I  know  that  your  name 
for  Governor,  and  your  presence  on  the  stump, 
would  call  out  all  the  Old  Guard ;  it  would  rally 
to  the  front  again  every  Boy  in  Blue;  would 
revive  the  old  spirit  of  enthusiasm;  call  home 
the  wanderers,  heal  the  disaffections  and  place 
the  Kepublican  column  once  more  in  solid 
phalanx  and  place  Iowa  where  she  belongs  at 
the  head  of  the  vanguard  of  States  that  march 
with  the  flag  and  keep  step  to  the  music  of  the 
Union. ' V523  Newspapers  also  began  to  give  sup 
port  to  the  movement. 

Here  was  a  quandary,  but  Kirkwood  was  not 
without  advisers.  Jacob  Rich,  for  instance, 
urged  him  to  be  a  candidate  for  Governor  and 
not  announce  his  senatorial  aspirations  until 
later.  A  strong  candidate  for  Governor  was 
necessary  in  order  to  carry  the  legislative  ticket 
for  the  Republican  party.  "Even  if  it  means 
retirement, "  asked  Rich,  "would  it  not  mean 
such  a  going  out  as  would  make  you  the  most 
honored  man  in  the  State !  .  .  .  .  The  party 
needs  you  for  Governor,  and  I  believe  your  con 
sent  to  take  it,  must  bring  you  honor  and  satis 
faction.  "  At  the  same  time  he  did  not  believe 


330  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

that  an  election  as  Governor  would  mean  the 
end  of  Kirkwood's  chance  for  the  senatorship.524 

On  the  other  hand,  such  men  as  John  H.  Gear 
and  J.  N.  Dewey  advised  him  not  to  be  a  guber 
natorial  candidate  if  he  wished  to  be  Senator. 
"Select  the  position  you  propose  to  go  for  and 
go  for  it",  said  the  latter.  "Possibly  between 
two  stools  you  might  catch  a  fall  —  which  we 
don't  want."525 

Whether  or  not  this  possibility  worried  Kirk- 
wood,  he  did  not  wish  the  nomination  for  Gov 
ernor;  and  in  May  he  authorized  the  editor  of 
the  Iowa  City  Republican  to  announce  that  he 
would  positively  refuse  to  accept  it,  even  if 
tendered  to  him.526  He  was  a  man  of  sixty-two 
years,  whose  hair  was  growing  gray  and  whose 
physical  strength  was  beyond  its  zenith.  He  did 
not  feel  equal  to  the  strain  of  a  vigorous  cam 
paign  such  as  would  be  required  of  a  candidate 
for  the  governorship. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  as  the  time  for  the  State 
convention  approached  it  seemed  less  and  less 
likely  that  Kirkwood  would  be  obliged  either  to 
accept  or  reject  a  nomination  for  Governor.  It 
had  become  almost  a  foregone  conclusion  that 
James  B.  Weaver  of  Bloomfield  would  be  the 
party  nominee.  He  had  a  record  for  distin 
guished  service  during  the  Civil  War,  and  he 
was  a  man  of  great  and  recognized  ability.  His 
nomination  was  confidently  expected  on  the 


THIRD  TERM  AS  GOVERNOR          331 

basis  of  the  claim  that  a  majority  of  the  dele 
gates  to  the  convention  were  instructed  to  vote 
for  him.  His  extreme  views  in  favor  of  prohi 
bition  afforded  the  chief  ground  of  opposition 
to  his  nomination.  Weaver's  principal  com 
petitor  was  John  Russell,  formerly  State  Audi 
tor,  who  received  support  from  those  opposed  to 
making  prohibition  a  party  issue.  Three  other 
men,  namely,  John  H.  Gear,  Robert  Smythe, 
and  W.  B.  Fairfield,  each  had  a  small  follow 
ing.527 

Then  came  the  Republican  State  convention 
at  Des  Moines  on  June  30th.528  "The  gathering 
was  pronounced  the  largest  and  most  enthusi 
astic  ever  assembled  in  Iowa  since  the  organiza 
tion  of  the  Republican  party.  Every  available 
seat  in  Moore's  Opera  House  was  filled,  and 
hundreds  were  unable  to  gain  admittance.'' 
During  the  morning  a  temporary  organization 
was  effected  and  committees  were  appointed. 
The  election  of  permanent  officers  and  a  speech 
by  the  chairman  were  the  first  events  in  the 
afternoon.  Then  nominations  for  Governor 
were  declared  to  be  in  order.  One  by  one, 
James  B.  Weaver,  John  Russell,  John  H.  Gear, 
Robert  Smythe,  and  W.  B.  Fairfield  were 
placed  in  nomination. 

Balloting  was  about  to  begin  when  in  the 
midst  of  the  Audubon  County  delegation  there 
arose  Dr.  S.  M.  Ballard,  a  large  man  with  flow- 


332  SAMUEL  J.  KTRKWOOD 

ing  white  hair.  In  tones  that  penetrated  to 
every  corner  of  the  hall  he  nominated  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood.  Immediately  there  were  enthusi 
astic  cheers  and  a  great  flutter  of  excitement. 
Delegations  fell  to  discussing  the  unexpected 
nomination.  "The  Dubuque  delegation  was 
seated  on  the  stage,  and  was  plainly  the  most 
excited  and  apparently  the  most  surprised  of 
all  the  delegations.  It  had  a  hurried  consulta 
tion,  and  then  one  of  its  members,  General 
Trumbull,  ....  left  the  delegation  and 
walked  clear  down  to  the  front  of  the  stage,  and 
leaning  over  the  foot-lights  and  pointing  his 
hand  at  the  Audubon  delegation,  which  sat  in 
the  parquette  not  far  from  the  stage,"  de 
manded  to  know  by  what  authority  the  name  of 
Mr.  Kirkwood  was  presented.  Again  Dr. 
Ballard  arose  and  "in  a  voice  of  peculiar  power 
and  magnetism"  answered  back:  "By  the 
authority  of  the  great  Republican  party  of  the 
State  of  Iowa."  Vociferous  applause,  lasting 
for  several  minutes,  greeted  this  reply. 

When  quiet  had  been  partially  restored 
"Honest  John  Russell"  arose  and  "with  the 
Scotch  accent  peculiar  to  the  man",  declared 
that  he  would  not  be  a  candidate  against  the 
old  War  Governor.  He  was  followed  by  John 
H.  Gear  who,  in  a  speech  "delivered  with  fire 
and  dash,  having  an  electrifying  effect  on  the 
Convention,"  likewise  withdrew  his  name.  "I 


THIRD  TERM  AS  GOVERNOR          333 

would  regard  now  and  at  all  times  the  interests 
of  my  party  first",  he  said.  "I  most  cordially 
second  the  motion  to  nominate  the  old  War 
Governor,  who  sent  seventy-five  thousand  of 
our  Iowa  boys  in  blue  cheering  to  the  front  to 
help  so  potentially  in  subduing  the  rebellion". 
This  speech  was  followed  by  '  *  such  tumultuous 
cheers  as  were  never  heard  before  in  any  polit 
ical  gathering  in  the  State. ' ' 

After  the  applause  had  ceased  some  delegate 
had  the  temerity  to  inquire  whether  it  was  not 
true  that  Kirkwood 's  friends  in  the  convention 
had  received  a  telegram  from  him  earlier  in  the 
day  positively  declining  to  accept  a  nomination. 
In  response  there  came  cries  of  "Don't  care  if 
they  have"  and  "Don't  make  any  difference". 
Dr.  Ballard  then  proposed  that  Kirkwood  be 
nominated  by  acclamation,  but  there  was  much 
opposition  to  this  suggestion,  and  so  an  in 
formal  ballot  was  taken.  The  result  was  that 
Kirkwood  received  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
votes,  Weaver  two  hundred,  Smythe  one  hun 
dred  and  eleven,  and  Fairfield  thirty-three. 
Three  hundred  and  seven  were  necessary  to  a 
choice.  A  formal  ballot  was  therefore  taken. 
But  before  it  could  be  counted,  various  counties 
began  to  change  their  vote  to  the  support  of 
Kirkwood,  "whereupon  Capt.  Hull,  of  Davis  - 
Gen.  Weaver's  county  —  very  gracefully  moved 
to  make  the  nomination  of  Gov.  Kirkwood 


unanimous. ' 


334  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

The  motion  was  enthusiastically  adopted; 
and  Kev.  I.  P.  Teter,  a  member  of  the  conven 
tion,  moved  that  the  secretary  telegraph  to 
Kirkwood  asking  if  he  would  accept.  This 
motion  was  met  with  a  storm  of  protests. 
"Hon.  John  Y.  Stone  arose  amid  the  tumult  to 
say,  'Gov.  Kirkwood  must  accept.'  This  was 
the  signal  for  such  wild  applause  that  Mr. 
Teter  withdrew  his  motion,  saying  he  would 
substitute  therefor  a  second  to  the  positive 
declaration  of  Senator  Stone." 

While  the  convention  was  still  in  an  uproar 
because  of  the  unexpected  "stampede"  many 
messages  were  passing  over  the  wires  from  Des 
Moines  to  Iowa  City.  "Kirkwood  nominated 
for  governor  first  ballot  amid  most  tumultuous 
applause  I  ever  witnessed",  telegraphed  James 
S.  Clarkson  to  George  G.  Wright,  who  was  then 
living  in  Iowa  City.  "Under  no  circumstances 
must  he  decline."  To  Kirkwood  himself  came 
a  telegram  signed  by  John  H.  Gear,  William 
Larrabee,  Ed.  Wright,  B.  S.  Finkbine,  J.  G. 
Foote,  and  J.  Q.  Tufts:  "All  candidates  with 
drawn  in  your  favor  you  are  nominated  by 
acclamation  you  must  accept  it  will  come  out  all 
right."  "It  could  not  be  helped",  was  the  mes 
sage  written  by  Nathaniel  B.  Baker.  "It  was 
the  only  road  out.  And  now,  I  think  it  does  not 
hurt  you  on  U.  S.  Senator."  R.  S.  Finkbine 
was  even  more  certain  on  this  point,  for  he 


THIRD  TERM  AS  GOVERNOR          335 

assured  Kirkwood  that  the  election  as  Governor 
would  give  him  "a  hold  on  the  party  for  the 
Senatorship,  which  neither  H ell  —  nor  Harlan 
could  defeat."529 

The  candidate  was  slow  in  replying  to  the 
urgent  messages  of  his  friends.  "Why  in 
thunder  don't  you  accept  answer?"  was  the  im 
patient  telegram  from  Ed.  Wright  which 
reached  Iowa  City  at  4:40  in  the  afternoon. 
Finally,  Mr.  Kirkwood  sent  a  reluctant  reply: 
"If  I  must,  say  yes  for  me."530 

Thus  was  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  forced  into  a 
campaign  against  his  will.  It  was  one  of  those 
instances  in  which  the  best  laid  plans  go  amiss. 
The  nomination  of  James  B.  Weaver  had  been 
practically  certain.  But  he  was  opposed  by  the 
friends  of  other  candidates,  as  well  as  by  the 
anti-prohibition  forces  and  the  corporations. 
When  Kirkwood 's  name  was  presented  all  these 
elements  found  common  ground  in  his  support. 
Added  to  this  situation  were  the  great  popu 
larity  of  the  old  War  Governor  and^the  psycho 
logical  effect  of  the  dramatic  manner  in  which 
his  name  was  placed  before  the  convention.531 

Having  once  accepted  the  nomination  the 
Republican  candidate  for  Governor  entered 
into  the  race  in  earnest  against  his  Democratic 
competitor,  Shepherd  Leffler.  The  campaign  on 
the  part  of  the  Republicans  opened  formally  on 
September  1st.  But  on  August  19th  Mr.  Kirk- 


336  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

wood  made  a  speech  in  the  opera  house  at  Des 
Moines  which  sounded  the  key-note  of  his  cam 
paign.  After  being  introduced  by  Governor 
Carpenter,  he  was  "warmly,  loudly,  and  repeat 
edly  cheered."  First  he  denied  the  charges 
made  in  the  Democratic  press  that  he  had  spec 
ulated  in  tax  titles,  that  he  was  a  large  owner  of 
railroad  stock,  that  he  owned  stock  in  a  dis 
tillery,  that  he  had  spoken  in  slighting  terms  of 
the  German  citizens  of  the  State,  and  that  he 
had  speculated  in  army  clothing  during  the 
Civil  War. 

Then  he  took  up  three  inquiries  which  he  had 
received,  concerning  his  attitude  toward  woman 
suffrage,  secret  societies,  and  the  temperance 
question.  "As  to  woman  suffrage  he  said  he 
honestly  hoped  to  see  the  day  when  in  going  to 
the  polls  we  shall  take  our  wives,  daughters,  and 
sisters  with  us,  and  he  believed  that  many  of  us 
would  live  to  see  such  a  day."  In  response  to 
the  second  inquiry  he  stated  that  he  was  a 
Mason  and  an  Odd  Fellow.  "Many  of  the  mem 
bers  of  each  of  these  Orders  will  fight  me  as 
bitterly  as  any  others  in  Iowa,"  he  continued, 
"and  I  do  not  suppose  there  are  many  who  will 
think  of  making  this  question  an  issue  in  the 
canvass  or  at  the  polls.  I  will  not  argue  the 
question  here.  Any  man  who  wishes  to  vote 
against  me  on  that  score,  or  who  honestly  thinks 
lie  ought  to,  can  do  so  without  any  objections  on 
my  part." 


THIRD  TERM  AS  GOVERNOR          337 

The  temperance  question,  then  a  prominent 
issue  in  Iowa,  was  discussed  more  in  detail. 
The  speaker  declared  that  he  was  as  much  op 
posed  to  the  intemperate  use  of  intoxicating 
liquors  as  anyone  could  be.  But  he  felt  that 
there  was  ground  for  honest  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  best  method  of  regulating  the 
liquor  traffic.  In  part  of  the  counties  of  the 
State  the  prohibitory  law  was  well  enforced, 
while  in  others  it  was  openly  violated.  "I  know 
it  is  much  more  difficult  to  do  a  thing  than  to 
say  it  can  be  done,"  he  declared,  "but  I  think 
if  I  had  the  power  to  do  so  I  could  make  a  law 
that  would  fully  protect  the  counties  where  the 
present  law  is  enforced  and  at  the  same  time 
better  the  condition  of  the  counties  where  the 
present  law  is  not  enforced. "  This  statement 
was  not  to  be  taken  in  any  way  as  a  pledge. 
"You  may  say  on  one  side  or  on  the  other  or  on 
both  sides  of  this  question  that  you  are  unwill 
ing  to  trust  one  without  a  pledge ",  he  said. 
"Very  well  —  that  is  your  privilege,  and  you, 
not  I,  must  be  answerable  for  its  exercise." 

' '  Some  of  my  friends  who  are  editing  Demo 
cratic  papers,"  he  continued,  "are  afraid  that 
if  I  get  to  be  Governor  I  may  want  to  be  a  Sen 
ator.  They  and  some  others  are  very  anxious 
that  we  should  have  a  good  looking  man  to  send 
as  our  Governor  to  the  Centennial  Exposition 
at  Philadelphia  next  year.  .  .  .  Now  I 

23 


338  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

couldn't  go  to  the  Senate  or  leave  the  Governor 
ship,  if  I  wanted  to,  before  March,  of  1877- 
the  year  after  the  Centennial,  so  that  the  people 
of  Iowa  would  still  have  the  benefit  of  all  the 
beauty  that  I  have  at  the  Centennial.  [Re 
peated  laughter.]  ....  But  about  my  want 
ing  or  not  wanting  to  go  to  the  Senate  I  shall 
make  no  promises.  If  I  did  it  might  be  as  it  was 
with  the  Governorship.  I  said  I  did  not  want 
and  would  not  take  that;  but  I  am  the  Repub 
lican  party's  candidate  for  it  —  and  I  do  not 
intend  any  more  to  say  what  office  I  will  take 
and  what  I  will  not." 

With  this  lengthy  introduction,  the  candidate 
proceeded  with  the  formal  part  of  his  speech,  in 
which  he  discussed  the  attitude  of  the  Repub 
lican  party  on  the  great  issues  of  the  day.  Just 
at  the  close  he  returned  once  more  to  the  tem 
perance  question,  and  advised  the  prohibition 
ists  to  remain  in  the  Republican  party.  "You 
are  no  doubt  as  honest  as  you  are  earnest,  and 
I  for  one  believe  that  you  are",  he  declared. 
"It  is  right,  too,  to  be  progressive,  radical,  and 
advanced.  But  have  a  care  that  you  do  not  get 
so  far  ahead  of  public  opinion  that  you  will  get 
out  of  sight  of  the  great  body  of  the  people  alto 
gether,  and  be  lost.  (Applause.)  So  far, 
indeed,  that  you  cannot  even  be  heard.  (Ap 
plause.)  "5;{- 

1  hiring  the  next  six  weeks  Kirkwood  toured 


THIRD  TERM  AS  GOVERNOR          339 

the  State  on  a  vigorous  campaign  of  speech- 
making.  To  be  sure  there  was  lacking  much  of 
the  picturesqueness  which  characterized  the 
joint  debates  between  Kirkwood  and  Dodge  in 
1859.  The  railroads  also  made  it  possible  to 
get  from  place  to  place  with  greater  comfort 
and  expedition  than  in  the  days  when  candi 
dates  must  depend  almost  entirely  on  stage 
lines  and  private  conveyances.  But  the  candi 
date  addressed  the  people  with  much  of  his  old 
magnetism  and  earnestness  in  a  great  many 
towns  from  one  end  of  the  State  to  the  other. 
The  result  was  that  at  the  election  held  on 
October  12th  he  received  over  thirty-one  thou 
sand  more  votes  than  did  his  opponent, 
Shepherd  Leffler.533 

The  third  inauguration  of  Samuel  J.  Kirk- 
wood  as  Governor  of  Iowa  occurred  in  the 
opera  house  in  Des  Moines  on  January  13, 1876. 
After  the  officers-elect  had  entered  the  hall  and 
taken  the  seats  assigned  to  them  the  Capital 
City  Band  played  "Hail  to  the  Chief ".  Eev. 
J.  W.  Murphy  then  offered  prayer  and  the  band 
played  "The  Mocking  Bird".  Thereupon  the 
oath  of  office  was  administered  to  the  newly 
elected  officers  and  Governor  Kirkwood  deliv 
ered  his  inaugural  address.534 

Because  this  was  the  centennial  year,  the 
Governor  dwelt  at  length  on  the  progress  of  the 
Nation  during  the  preceding  century  and  of 


340  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Iowa  since  the  coming  of  the  first  settlers.  He 
had  very  little  advice  to  offer  the  General  As 
sembly  in  the  way  of  a  program  for  legislation, 
except  to  suggest  the  need  of  reform  in  criminal 
procedure  and  to  recommend  railroad  rate  reg 
ulation,  including  the  creation  of  a  railroad 
commission.  The  needs  of  the  State  and  its 
various  institutions  had  already  been  set  forth 
by  his  predecessor.535 

Governor  Kirkwood's  third  period  of  service 
as  chief  executive  of  Iowa  was  brief  and  com 
paratively  uneventful.  Perhaps  the  mere 
routine  of  the  office  had  increased  in  volume 
during  the  twelve  years  since  he  last  sat  in  the 
Governor's  chair.  But  with  his  memories  of 
the  strenuous  days  during  the  war  he  must  have 
felt  that  his  duties  were  very  light.536  A  year 
passed,  with  almost  nothing  of  importance  to 
be  recorded  in  the  executive  journal.  Then  on 
the  first  day  of  February,  1877,  there  wras  in 
scribed  this  record:  "Upon  this  day,  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood,  having  been  elected  a  senator  of  the 
United  States  for  six  years  from  the  fourth  day 
of  March,  vacated  the  office  of  Governor  of  the 
State  of  Iowa,  whereupon,  in  accordance  with 
the  constitution,  Joshua  G.  Newbold,  the 
lieutenant  governor,  assumes  the  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  the  office  of  Governor."537 


XXIX 

SENATOR  IN  His  OWN  EIGHT 

THE  nomination  of  Kirkwood  for  Governor  in 
June,  1875,  did  not  banish  his  aspirations  for 
the  senatorship :  it  merely  postponed  his  active 
efforts  in  that  direction.  There  was  newspaper 
discussion  of  the  senatorial  question  through 
out  the  period  of  the  State  campaign;  but  the 
candidate  centered  his  energies  on  the  race  for 
the  governorship. 

October  12th,  the  day  of  the  State  election, 
however,  marked  the  beginning  of  a  new  cam 
paign.  "When  the  smoke  of  the  contest  has 
cleared  away,"  wrote  Jacob  Rich  on  the  fif 
teenth,  "we  must  canvass  the  condition  of  the 
new  battle  field/'538  That  the  canvass  was 
thorough  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  candidate 
received  fully  three  hundred  letters  during  the 
last  three  months  of  the  year  1875  bearing  on 
the  senatorial  contest.  Chief  among  the  Gov 
ernor's  supporters  were  Jacob  Eich,  J.  N. 
Dewey,  E.  E.  Kirk,  Caleb  Baldwin,  and  George 
G.  Wright.  These  men  and  others  labored 
earnestly  in  Kirkwood 's  behalf.  Members  of 
the  legislature  were  interviewed  or  letters  were 

341 


3412  SAMUEL  J.  KIRK  WOOD 

written  to  them  in  efforts  to  secure  a  promise 
of  their  votes.  The  Governor  was  kept  in 
formed  of  the  prospects  and  supplied  with  more 
advice  than  he  could  well  use. 

Senator  Allison's  attitude  was  one  subject  on 
which  there  was  difference  of  opinion.  E.  R. 
Kirk  and  George  D.  Perkins  wrote  from  Sioux 
City  expressing  the  belief  that  Kirkwood  had 
been  nominated  for  Governor  in  order  to  defeat 
him  for  Senator,  and  that  Allison  had  a  part  in 
the  plan.  They  warned  the  Governor  that 
Allison  and  Harlan  were  now  working  hand  in 
hand  to  secure  the  latter 's  return  to  the  Senate. 
Caleb  Baldwin  likewise  seems  to  have  been 
doubtful  of  the  Dubuque  Senator's  support. 
"I  have  had  a  talk  with  Allison,"  he  wrote 
about  the  middle  of  December,  "he  says  he  is 
all  right  for  you,  but  is  tied.  I  told  him  you 
were  not  tied  when  you  were  asked  to  aid  him. 
This  he  admitted  freely."  Jacob  Rich,  how 
ever,  denied  that  Allison  was  opposed  to  Kirk- 
wood:  he  was  "simply  letting  the  thing  alone 
personally."539 

Any  fears  which  Kirkwood  himself  may  have 
had  on  this  point  must  have  disappeared  after 
reading  a  letter  from  Allison  written  on  De 
cember  19th.  "I  felt  quite  sure  that  the  appre 
hension  of  some  of  your  friends  possibly 
somewhat  shared  in  by  yourself,  that  I  would  or 
was  forming  alliances  in  another  direction 


SENATOR  IN  HIS  OWN  RIGHT        343 

would  be  dispelled  before  the  canvass  had 
progressed  very  far.  None  such  were  ever 
thought  of  by  me,  for  a  moment,  as  our  friendly 
relations  beginning  with  my  boyhood,  or  youth, 
and  until  now  uninterrupted,  to  say  nothing  of 
my  deep  obligation  to  you  for  various  services, 
which  aided  materially  in  securing  what  little 
of  success  I  have  achieved,  would  all  preclude 
the  idea  of  any  such  combination.  "S4° 

While  Kirkwood's  closest  friends  assured 
him  that  the  election  as  Governor  ought  not  and 
would  not  prove  a  stumbling-block  in  his  path 
way  to  the  Senate,  other  people  were  not  so 
certain.  Especially  discouraging  were  the  re 
plies  received  from  many  members  of  the  legis 
lature.  Typical  was  the  letter  from  M.  C. 
Jordan,  a  Representative-elect  from  Linn 
County.  "I  voted  for  you  in  State  Convention 
for  Governor, "  he  wrote,  "and  our  choice  was 
backed  up  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  repub 
licans  of  Iowa  at  the  polls.  I  do  not  suppose 
there  was  ten  men  in  convention,  or  one  hundred 
in  the  State  that  would  have  voted  for  Mr. 
Newbold  for  Governor,  now  would  it  be  right 
for  150  men  to  deprive  the  people  of  Iowa  of 
their  choice  for  Gov.  and  put  in  a  man  that  they 
did  not  want."541 

As  the  campaign  began  to  "warm  up"  it 
required  repeated  urgings  on  the  part  of  his 
friends  to  induce  Kirkwood  to  take  aggressive 


344  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

action  in  his  own  behalf.  He  always  enjoyed  a 
contest  like  that  for  Governor,  where  the  issues 
could  be  squarely  met  in  public  speech.  But  he 
had  no  taste  for  the  wire-pulling  and  scheming 
which  an  election  by  the  legislature  involved. 
"I  know  how  natural  it  is  in  you",  wrote  J.  N. 
Dewey,  ' '  to  shrink  from  any  such  contest  - 
how  loth  to  say,  or  to  do  anything  of  yourself 
for  yourself  ....  you  must  shake  off  all 
that  kind  of  sentiment."542 

"You  must  have  a  thorough  organization  of 
your  friends  throughout  the  State",  advised 
Jacob  Eicli.  "You  must  get  at  the  influences 
and  the  men  that  control  each  member,  and 
capture  them  if  you  honorably  can. 
There  are  many  honorable  ways  to  reach  men, 
and  these  ways  you  and  the  immediate  advisers 
about  you  must  study.  .  .  .  There  is  honest 
expenditure  —  a  legitimate  use  of  means  —  in 
this."543 

Apparently  the  chief  purpose  for  which 
money  was  used  during  this  campaign  was  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  people  who  went  to  Des 
Moines  to  exert  whatever  influence  they  might 
have  over  the  members  of  the  legislature.  Late 
in  December  Jacob  Rich  sent  a  list  of  the  names 
of  twenty-seven  men  from  northeastern  Iowa 
whom  he  had  invited  to  go  to  Des  Moines.  Some 
of  them  would  pay  their  own  expenses,  others 
must  be  guaranteed  that  their  way  would  be 


SENATOR  IN  HIS  OWN  RIGHT        345 

paid,  while  in  a  few  cases  it  would  be  necessary 
to  furnish  railway  tickets.  Rich  promised  to  be 
as  "circumspect  as  possible  in  the  matter  of 
expense. "  E.  R.  Kirk  of  Sioux  City  also  in 
formed  the  Governor  that  several  influential 
men  from  that  section  would  go  to  Des  Homes. 
One  man  had  declared  that  he  would  spend  one 
hundred  dollars  out  of  his  own  pocket  rather 
than  see  Kirkwood  defeated.  "I  do  not  think 
it  improper",  said  Kirk,  "to  pay  some  of  these 
poor  devils  of  Country  editors  their  ex 
penses.  "544 

By  the  time  the  General  Assembly  convened 
in  January,  1876,  the  candidates  in  the  sena 
torial  contest  were  definitely  known.  Chief 
among  Kirkwood 's  competitors  for  the  Repub 
lican  nomination  was  his  old  opponent  of  the 
campaign  ten  years  before  —  James  Harlan. 
There  were  also  Hiram  Price,  William  W. 
Belknap,  and  George  W.  McCrary  —  all  men  of 
ability  who  had  enough  supporters  to  give  them 
some  hope  of  success. 

On  January  llth  it  was  announced,  without 
much  previous  discussion,  that  the  Republican 
caucus  would  be  held  on  the  following  evening. 
"The  announcement  created  a  decided  sensa 
tion,  and  made  a  stir  through  the  great  crowd, 
and  was  followed  by  a  tumult  at  all  of  the 
different  headquarters.  It  precipitated  things 
with  a  rush,  and  made  a  busy  night  of  it." 


346  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

There  was  also  ''much  telegraphing  to  and  fro, 
arid  plenty  of  bracing-up  messages  from  home 
ordered  up  by  all  sides. " 

The  Republican  caucus  on  the  evening  of 
January  12th  was  an  orderly  and  good-natured 
meeting.  Senator  Fred  A.  Teale  called  atten 
tion  to  the  rickety  condition  of  the  building  in 
which  the  caucus  was  held,  and  warned  the 
members  "  against  indulgence  in  tumultuous 
applause."  Then,  to  the  surprise  of  nearly 
everyone,  John  S.  Woolson  arose  and  read  a 
letter  from  James  Harlan  requesting  that  his 
name  be  withdrawn  from  the  list  of  candidates. 
The  chief  cause  of  this  withdrawal  was  learned 
on  the  following  day  when  it  became  known  that 
Harlan  had  been  called  to  the  bedside  of  his 
son,  who  had  been  seized  with  a  fatal  illness 
while  on  his  way  to  California. 

The  withdrawal  of  Harlan 's  name  upset  all 
calculations.  No  one  could  predict  for  which 
candidate  his  friends  would  now  cast  their 
votes,  though  it  seems  to  have  been  expected 
that  they  would  favor  Hiram  Price.  Thus  the 
informal  ballot  was  watched  with  breathless 
interest.  The  counting  of  the  ballots  showed 
Kirkwood  far  in  the  lead  with  fifty-three  votes, 
while  his  nearest  competitor,  Hiram  Price,  had 
only  twenty-four.  But  no  one  had  a  majority. 
The  first  formal  ballot,  however,  gave  Kirk- 
wood  fifty-six  votes,  which  was  one  more  than 


SENATOR  IN  HIS  OWN  RIGHT        347 

was  necessary  to  a  choice,  and  he  was  forthwith 
declared  to  be  nominated  unanimously.545 

One  week  later,  in  joint  convention  of  the  two 
houses  of  the  General  Assembly,  he  was  de 
clared  duly  elected  United  States  Senator  from 
Iowa  for  the  full  term  of  six  years  beginning  on 
March  4,  1877.546  "I  find  nothing  but  grati 
fication  at  your  success",  wrote  Jacob  Rich. 
"I  never  felt  so  good  in  all  my  life."547 

On  the  Saturday  after  his  nomination  in  the 
caucus  Governor  Kirkwood  returned  for  a  brief 
visit  to  his  home  in  Iowa  City,  where  he  was 
given  an  enthusiastic  reception.  As  the  train 
neared  the  station  a  salute  was  fired,  and 
Lyon's  Band  of  twenty  pieces  played  "Hail  to 
the  Chief".  Amid  the  cheers  of  the  crowd  the 
Governor  was  conducted  to  a  carriage  and 
driven  to  the  St.  James  Hotel;  and  during  his 
progress  from  the  station  to  the  hotel  a  l '  Sena 
torial  salute  of  fifteen  guns  was  fired".  After 
supper  the  distinguished  citizen  was  taken  to 
Ham's  Hall,  "where  an  immense  crowd  awaited 
him,  hundreds  being  unable  to  gain  admittance. 
His  entrance  to  the  hall  was  the  signal  for  the 
wildest  demonstration  of  applause". 

Chancellor  William  G.  Hammond  of  the  Law 
Department  of  the  State  University  delivered  a 
brief  address  of  welcome,  expressive  of  the 
affection  and  admiration  which  the  people  of 
Iowa  City  felt  toward  the  man  they  had  assem- 


348  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

bled  to  honor.  Governor  Kirkwood,  much 
affected  by  the  demonstration,  responded  very 
briefly.  "I  guessed  by  a  despatch  received 
yesterday",  he  said,  "and  I  learned  by  a  news 
paper  that  I  read  on  the  train  the  fact  of  my 
reception  here  to-night  —  I  should  be  dull  and 
insensate  if  I  did  not  appreciate  the  honor  done 
me  by  the  people  of  the  State  of  Iowa.  .  .  . 
I  have  lived  in  Iowa  City  21  years  and  I  love,  as 
you  all  do,  the  city  in  which  we  live.  We  all 
feel  as  we  ought  to  the  friendship  which  gives 
greeting  to  one  who  has  drawn  a  prize  in  the 
Lottery  of  Life.  I  will  promise,  and  this  is  all 
I  have  ever  promised,  that  in  the  discharge  of 
my  duties  I  will  do  the  best  I  can  and  if  what  I 
shall  do  will  meet  your  approval,  when  done,  I 
shall  feel  fully  rewarded."548 

For  a  year  after  his  election  to  the  senator- 
ship  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  remained  in  the 
Governor's  chair.  On  February  1,  1877,  he 
resigned,  and  shortly  afterward  set  out  for  the 
national  capital  to  attend  a  short  special  session 
of  the  Senate.  The  greater  part  of  his  time 
during  the  next  five  years  was  to  be  spent  in  the 
city  where  as  a  youth  he  had  acquired  a  taste 
for  politics  and  public  debate.  When  the  work 
of  the  Forty-fifth  Congress  opened  in  earnest  in 
October,  1877,  Mrs.  Kirkwood  accompanied  her 
husband  to  Washington,  and  during  the  entire 


SENATOR  IN  HIS  OWN  RIGHT        349 

period  of  his  senatorship  they  made  their  home 
at  No.  1314  Tenth  Street,  North  West.549 

Mr.  Kirkwood  served  in  the  Senate  for  a 
period  of  four  years.  During  this  time  there 
were  six  sessions  of  Congress.  Among  his 
associates,  in  addition  to  William  B.  Allison, 
his  colleague  from  Iowa,  were  James  G.  Blaine, 
Roscoe  Conkling,  Henry  L.  Dawes,  Wade 
Hampton,  Hannibal  Hamlin,  George  F.  Hoar, 
L.  Q.  C.  Lamar,  Justin  S.  Morrill,  Oliver  P. 
Morton,  Henry  M.  Teller,  and  Allen  G.  Thur- 
man.  Throughout  the  period  he  was  a  member 
of  the  committees  on  foreign  relations,  pen 
sions,  and  post  offices  and  post  roads. 

There  is  nothing  spectacular  about  Kirk- 
wood's  career  in  the  United  States  Senate 
during  these  four  years.  His  last  legislative 
service  was  very  similar  in  character  to  his 
activity  in  the  Iowa  State  Senate  at  the  begin 
ning  of  his  public  career.  He  was  very  seldom 
absent  from  his  seat;  he  worked  diligently  in 
committees ;  he  introduced  a  considerable  num 
ber  of  bills  and  endeavored  to  secure  their 
passage ;  and  he  gave  close  attention  to  the  dis 
cussions  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate.  But  he  did 
not  often  participate  at  any  length  in  the  de 
bates,  and  he  never  made  a  long,  formal  speech. 
This  does  not  mean,  however,  that  he  failed  to 
contribute  his  full  share  to  the  deliberations 
and  to  the  forming  of  conclusions  on  important 


350  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

measures.  His  remarks,  though  usually  very 
brief,  were  clear  and  to  the  point.  He  wasted  no 
time  in  quoting  poetry  or  in  long-winded  argu 
ments  as  did  some  members  of  the  Senate. 

About  the  longest  and  certainly  the  most 
notable  speech  made  by  Senator  Kirkwood 
occurred  on  June  20,  1879,  during  the  debate  on 
the  army  appropriation  bill.  The  particular 
point  at  issue  was  a  section  of  the  bill  declaring 
that  no  part  of  the  money  appropriated  should 
be  so  used  as  to  enable  any  portion  of  the 
United  States  army  to  be  used  to  keep  the  peace 
at  the  polls  at  any  election  in  any  of  the  States. 
Senator  Kirkwood  readily  admitted  that  the 
army  could  not  be  used  as  a  police  force  in 
purely  local  affairs  in  the  States.  In  all  such 
cases  the  army  could  only  be  sent  into  a  State 
in  response  to  a  request  from  the  State  author 
ities,  when  they  found  themselves  unable  to 
cope  with  the  situation,  whatever  it  might  be. 

But  the  Iowa  Senator  was  firm  in  the  belief 
that  it  was  the  right  and  duty  of  the  President, 
without  request  or  even  permission,  to  send  the 
United  States  army  anywhere  within  the  coun 
try  when  the  Federal  Constitution  or  laws  were 
violated,  and  there  was  a  failure  on  the  part  of 
local  authorities  to  bring  violators  to  punish 
ment.  Representatives  in  Congress  were  Fed 
eral  officers ;  their  offices  were  established  by 
the  Constitution;  and  they  were  in  no  sense 


SENATOR  IN  HIS  OWN  RIGHT        351 

State  officials.  If  the  bill  meant  that  the  army 
could  not  be  used  to  suppress  violence  at  the 
polls  in  the  election  of  Representatives,  then  he 
was  unalterably  opposed  to  that  particular 
section.  To  hold  that  Congress  had  the  power 
to  pass  an  election  law,  and  yet  did  not  have  the 
power  to  enforce  it,  would  be  ridiculous.  "A 
government  that  cannot  do  that  is  incomplete ' ', 
he  declared.  "A  government  that  has  to  rely 
upon  something  else  than  itself,  upon  some 
other  power  than  its  own  to  enforce  its  own 
law,  is  not  a  government". 

"Let  me  make  myself  understood  now",  he 
continued.  "There  is  a  great  deal  of  talk  about 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  inter 
fering  in  the  States  to  keep  the  peace.  Nobody 
claims  that  it  has  the  right  to  do  that  ordi 
narily  ;  but  it  is  claimed  that  whenever  a  consti 
tutional  law  is  passed  by  Congress  it  goes  of  its 
own  power,  not  by  favor,  not  by  permission 
from  anybody,  but  of  its  own  constitutional 
vigor  it  goes  through  the  whole  length  and 
breadth  of  our  land  and  attaches  to  and  becomes 
part,  so  to  speak,  of  every  inch  of  our  soil." 

This  view  was  elaborated  by  means  of  illus 
trations  and  by  answers  to  the  questions  of 
other  members.  Senator  Kirkwood  then  in 
sisted  that  the  Democratic  Senators  should 
state  their  exact  meaning  in  connection  with  the 
particular  section  of  the  bill  under  dispute. 


35:2  SAMUEL  J.  K1KKWOOD 

"Now  I  say,  in  all  kindness  and  all  frankness," 
lie  declared,  "it  is  not  for  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  to  pass  a  law  the  meaning  of 
which  is  shown  to  be  doubtful.  Am  I  right? 
Is  it  a  becoming  thing  in  this  body,  said  to  be 
the  most  dignified  deliberative  body  in  the 
world  —  ah,  well  we  will  continue  to  say  so  - 
is  it  becoming  in  this  body,  when  the  fact  is 
brought  to  its  attention,  that  upon  the  face  of  a 
bill  pending  before  it  for  action  uncertainty, 
doubt,  dispute  exists  as  to  what  is  the  true 
meaning  of  that  bill,  that  it  shall  not  be  made 
clear?" 

Although  partisanship  and  sectionalism  had 
run  high  in  some  of  the  debates,  because  the 
principal  instances  of  violence  at  elections  had 
occurred  in  the  South,  he  assured  the  Southern 
Senators  that  the  Republicans  did  not  wish  ill 
to  the  people  of  their  section.  "They  wish  the 
prosperity  of  the  people  of  the  South",  he  said, 
"as  well  as  they  do  of  any  other  section  of  our 
country.  They  wish  that  prosperity  because 
the  people  of  the  South  are  part  of  our  great 
family,  and  if  you  will  not  believe  that  we  wish 
you  prosperity  for  that  reason,  then  believe  it 
for  a  worse,  lower,  more  selfish  reason.  We 
have  common  sense  enough  to  know  that  your 
prosperity  is  the  prosperity  of  the  country  of 
which  we  are  a  part.  Give  us  credit  for  selfish 
ness  at  least,  if  for  nothing  else  but  that.  We 


SENATOR  IN  HIS  OWN  RIGHT        353 

do  desire  your  prosperity,  and  we  know,  we 
think  we  know,  that  that  is  to  be  obtained  on  the 
sole  condition  of  peace,  quiet,  and  good  order 
among  you. ' ' 

There  was  still  another  reason  why  he  op 
posed  the  section.  "The  complaint  I  have  to 
make,"  he  said,  "and  the  complaint  that  is 
working  its  way  all  through  the  northern  coun 
try,  is  that  there  is  a  steady  and  persistent 
effort  in  every  direction  and  in  every  way  to 
weaken  this  Government,  to  tear  off  a  power 
here,  a  power  there,  and  a  power  elsewhere,  one 
by  one,  session  after  session,  year  after  year, 
until  you  leave  it  incapable  of  its  own  preserva 
tion.  .  .  .  The  people  of  our  Northern 
States  are  afraid  that  that  process  is  going  on 
to-day.  .  .  .  And  now  when  our  democratic 
friends  —  I  hate  to  use  the  term  in  this  Cham 
ber  —  when  our  friends  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Chamber  shall  have  explained  by  their  votes,  if 
they  will  not  explain  otherwise,  whether  this 
section  6  that  was,  and  section  5  that  is  now,  is 
a  mere  excrescence,  a  mere  wart,  so  to  speak,  on 
this  bill,  a  senseless  impertinence,  meaning  no 
offense  to  any  one  —  when  they  shall  have  ex 
plained  to  us  by  their  votes  whether  that  is  the 
case,  or  whether  it  means  that  much  larger  and 
greater  thing,  that  in  no  case  shall  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  have  power  to  enforce 
election  laws  anywhere  and  everywhere  in  the 

24 


SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

limits  of  our  country,  I  shall  be  prepared  to 
cast  my  vote.  "r>r>0 

This  speech  was  received  with  hearty  ap 
proval.  Especially  significant  were  the  re 
marks  of  Senator  Benjamin  II.  Hill  of  Georgia, 
who  had  been  a  member  of  the  Confederate 
Congress.  "First  of  all,"  he  declared,  "I  want 
to  express  to  the  Senator  from  Iowa  .... 
the  great  gratification  I  have  felt  in  listening  to 
his  speech.  Pie  lias  made  an  able,  a  dignified, 
and  an  excellent  speech,  worthy  of  a  Senator 
anywhere  and  in  any  age.  If  all  the  speeches 
made  on  this  floor  were  made  in  the  same  spirit 
and  with  the  same  clearness  and  patriotic 
temper  which  the  Senator  has  exhibited,  I  think 
that  what  he  intimated  as  doubtful  would  never 
be  doubtful  again,  and  that  is,  whether  this  is  a 
dignified  body.  ...  I  want  my  friend  to 
know  and  I  want  his  people  to  know  that  the 
patriotic,  the  manly,  the  catholic,  the  national, 
the  unsectional  sentiments  which  fell  from  his 
lips,  and  which  I  know  animate  his  bosom,  meet 
with  a  warm  and  hearty  response  in  mine  and  in 
the  bosoms  of  my  people.  lie  and  such  as  he, 
whether  republicans  or  democrats,  we  can  take 
to  our  arms  and  hearts  and  call  our  fellow- 
citizens  forever.""""'1 

The  speech  received  favorable  comment  in 
newspapers  in  Iowa  and  throughout  the  coun- 
trv.  Senator  Kirkwood  likewise  received  many 


SENATOR  IN  HIS  OWN  RIGHT        355 

letters  of  congratulation.  "The  Honorable 
Senator  from  N.  York  (Conkling)  spoke  bril 
liantly  to  the  Senate'7,  wrote  J.  C.  Stone  of 
Burlington.  "The  Honorable  Senator  from 
Vermont  (Edmunds)  made  a  great  law  argu 
ment  for  the  guidance  of  the  President  and  the 
Cabinet";  you  have  spoken  to  the  understanding 
of  the  people  who  will  highly  appreciate  your 
effort."352 

Because  of  his  membership  on  the  committee 
on  pensions,  Senator  Kirkwood  spoke  fre 
quently  on  that  subject,  which  was  then  growing 
rapidly  in  importance  because  each  year  it 
involved  a  larger  and  larger  sum  of  money. 
His  wide  acquaintance  among  the  soldiers  and 
his  deep  interest  in  them  might  easily  have 
inclined  him  to  great  liberality  in  respect  to 
pensions.  But  he  was  among  those  who,  while 
insisting  on  full  justice,  warned  the  Senate 
against  establishing  policies,  the  end  of  which 
could  not  be  foreseen.553 

His  views  on  the  currency  were  expressed  in 
remarks  favoring  the  resumption  of  specie  pay 
ments  and  opposing  the  complete  remonetiza- 
tion  of  silver.554  When  the  funding  bill  was 
under  discussion  he  argued  in  favor  of  offering 
a  certain  portion  of  the  bonds  to  popular  sub 
scription  throughout  the  country.555  His  sup 
port  was  given  to  a  bill  to  establish  a  tariff 
commission.556  Bills  relative  to  the  transpor- 


356  SAMUEL  J.  KJRKWOOD 

tation  of  live  stock  and  establishing  a  bureau  of 
animal  husbandry  likewise  received  much  atten 
tion  from  liim.r>r'7  With  regard  to  Indian  affairs 
his  policy  was  neither  one  of  mawkish  senti 
mentality  nor  one  which  disregarded  the  rights 
of  the  Red  Men.558 

During  these  four  years  Senator  and  Mrs. 
Kirkwood  lived  very  simply,  deviating  but  little 
from  the  mode  of  life  to  which  they  were  accus 
tomed  in  their  Iowa  home.  There  were  numer 
ous  invitations  to  social  functions,  but  neither 
of  them  cared  much  for  the  formalities  of 
official  society.  On  the  other  hand,  they  found 
great  pleasure  in  the  rich  opportunities  for 
acquaintance  and  friendship  with  interesting 
men  and  women  from  all  sections  of  the  country. 
The  intervals  between  sessions  of  Congress 
were  spent  in  Iowa  City.  It  was  always  a  relief 
to  be  back  in  the  home  of  which  they  had  grown 
so  fond,  where  there  was  light  and  air  and 
plenty  of  room.559 

Political  campaigns,  both  in  Iowa  and  else 
where,  claimed  some  of  Senator  Kirkwood 's 
time  during  recesses.  During  the  presidential 
campaign  of  1880  he  spent  three  weeks  on  the 
stump  in  Indiana,  and  made  two  rousing  Repub 
lican  speeches  in  Indianapolis. 

"Of  course  Republican  legislation  did  not 
bring  the  country  bad  crops  or  good  crops",  lie 
said  on  one  of  these  occasions,  "but  yet  it  had 


SENATOR  IN  HIS  OWN  RIGHT        357 

much  to  do  with  the  present  prosperity.  No 
mechanic  or  farmer  can  work  with  bad  tools. 
So  the  business  of  this  great  country  cannot  be 
done  without  a  sound  dollar,  and  a  sound  dollar 
has  come  because  you  have  got  honest  money, 
and  it  is  because  we  have  given  the  people  of 
this  country  that  kind  of  money  that  the  work 
shops  have  been  re-opened,  and  the  fires  have 
been  re-lighted,  and  everything  has  gone  on 
well.  .  .  .  We  have  done  another  thing  dur 
ing  the  time  we  have  had  possession  of  the 
government.  .  .  .  We  have  converted  four 
millions  of  chattels  into  four  millions  of  people, 
and  that  flag  that  waves  so  proudly  to-day  does 
not  wave  over  a  slave.  .  .  .  If  we  shall  have 
to  hand  this  government  over  to-day,  we  shall 
hand  it  over  when  liberty-loving  people  through 
out  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  this  land, 
and  all  the  liberty-loving  people  of  the  world 
are  looking  up  to  it  again  as  a  beacon  light  and 
exemplar,  wrhen  it  is  teaching  every  nation  of 
the  world  that  free  governments  among  men  are 
a  reality,  and  when  all  liberty-loving  people  in 
all  liberty-loving  lands  are  learning  from  us  the 
lesson  that  government  'of  the  people,  by  the 
people  and  for  the  people '  still  exists,  and  may 
exist  in  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  "5GO 

By  this  time  the  question  of  whether  he  would 
be  a  candidate  to  succeed  himself  as  Senator 
was  being  called  to  Kirkwood  's  attention  by  his 


358  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

friends.1"'51  But  all  plans  along  that  line  were 
laid  aside,  temporarily  at  least,  when  on  March 
.1,  1881,  he  resigned  from  the  Senate  to  accept  a 
seat  in  the  President's  Cabinet. 


XXX 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  INTERIOR 

THE  appointment  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  as 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  under  President 
Garfield  was  not  entirely  unexpected,  either  to 
himself  or  to  his  friends.  As  early  as  February 
20,  1881,  Jacob  Rich  mentioned  the  rumor  of 
the  possibility  of  a  call  to  the  Cabinet.  A 
Washington  newspaper  announced  on  March 
2nd  that  Kirkwood  had  "been  suggested  to  the 
President-elect  as  a  fit  person  to  be  made  Secre 
tary  of  the  Interior.'7  The  Senator,  it  was 
stated,  denied  that  he  had  been  consulted,  but  it 
was  known  that  Senator  Logan  had  made  appli 
cation  for  his  seat  in  the  front  row  in  the 
Senate.562 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  Garfield  had 
already  made  up  his  mind  concerning  Cabinet 
appointments.  Before  his  departure  for  Wash 
ington  he  gave  Professor  B.  A.  Hinsdale  of 
Hiram  College  a  list  of  the  men  whom  he 
intended  to  appoint,  and  among  them  was  Sen 
ator  Kirkwood  as  Secretary  of  the  Interior.563 

The  appointment  wras  made  on  March  5th,  and 
on  the  same  day  Kirkwood  resigned  from  the 

359 


360  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Senate.  Congratulations  now  poured  in  from 
all  parts  of  the  country  in  such  numbers  that 
during  the  next  three  weeks  his  clerk  was  kept 
busy  writing  notes  of  acknowledgment.  One  of 
the  earliest  letters  to  arrive  Avas  one  from 
Kirkwood's  old  friend  and  law  partner, 
Barnabas  Burns,  of  Mansfield,  Ohio,  who  had 
previously  written  to  Garfield  in  support  of 
Kirkwood.  "It  is  a  good  many  years  ago, 
Sam,"  wrote  I.  J.  Allen,  another  old  Mansfield 
friend,  "since  you  and  I  used  to  buck  around 
over  the  Richland  County  hills,  try  cases  before 
Dan.  Hiblet,  and  John  Stewart,  and  Dave 
Miller ;  and  make  stump  speeches.  .  .  .  and 
all  such  torn  nonsense.  .  .  .  The  scenes  in 
our  old  shabby  court  house,  when  Parker  was 
stammering  out  good  law  from  the  Bench,  & 
Stewart  and  Newman,  and  May,  and  Bartley  & 
Brinkerhoff,  and  all  the  rest  of  us  were  grind 
ing  out  logic,  such  as  it  was,  to  convince  the 
court  of  its  ignorance  and  blunders,  are  all  be 
fore  me  still."504 

Equally  warm  were  the  congratulations  of 
Kirkwood's  good  friend,  Jacob  Rich.  But  he 
was  well  enough  acquainted  with  administrative 
affairs  at  Washington  to  know  something  of  the 
tasks  ahead  of  the  new  Secretary.  "I  have  no 
doubt  of  your  ability  to  promptly  jabber  Choc- 
taw  and  Creek,  Sioux  and  Piute,  and  to  bo  the 
4 great  father'  of  all  the  Gros  Ventres  and  Nez 


SECRETARY  OF  THE  INTERIOR      361 

Perces  throughout  the  realm/'  he  said,  "but 
won't  all  the  Mephistophelian  clans,  red,  white 
and  yellow,  that  make  continuous  raids  upon 
the  chief  of  the  Interior,  in  disguises  calculated 
to  deceive  the  most  shrewd  and  the  most  watch 
ful,  worry  and  harrass  you!  There  are  legions 
of  them,  and  they  are  worse  than  any  devils  in 
monkish  legends,  for  neither  holy  act  or  pious 
speech  can  exorcise  them.  The  more  you  beat 
down,  the  more  there  spring  up.  ...  I 
fancy  that  the  most  onerous  place  under  the 
government,  or  in  the  nation,  is  the  Secretary 
ship  of  the  Interior  —  and  the  most  fatal  to 
men 's  reputations  —  for  the  more  honest  the 
man  the  more  persistent  the  assaults  upon  him 
by  the  scoundrels  who  cannot  use  him. ' ' 565 

Secretary  Kirkwood  did  not  take  formal  pos 
session  of  his  office  until  March  8th,  although  on 
the  previous  day  he  was  closeted  for  several 
hours  with  his  predecessor,  Carl  Schurz.  The 
first  formal  meeting  of  the  Cabinet  under  Presi 
dent  Grarfield  was  also  held  on  March  8th,  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  was  in  his  place. 
According  to  his  subordinates  "when  he  sat 
down  at  his  desk  the  first  day  he  came  into  the 
Department  as  its  chief  he  lighted  his  cigar, 
placed  his  old-fashioned  spectacles  on  his  nose, 
and  proceeded  to  dispatch  business  as  quietly, 
methodically  and  industriously  as  if  he  had 
been  there  for  years. ' '  During  the  day  he  had 


362  SAMUEL  J.  KIHKWOOD 

many  callers,  some  to  offer  congratulations  and 
others  seeking  office. nu<; 

Office-seekers  were  the  bane  of  Kirkwood's 
life  during  the  first  weeks  in  his  new  position. 
"I  am  getting  along  as  well  as  I  could  expect, 
under  the  circumstances,"  he  wrote  to  Jacob 
Rich  on  March  14th,  "doing  very  little  but 
hearing  people  ask  for  offices  and  telling  them 
that  I  am  not  yet  ready  to  make  any  appoint 
ments.  "r";7  And  not  only  did  position  hunters 
call  upon  him  in  person,  but  they  wrote  letters 
by  the  score.  Some  in  their  haste  even  used  the 
telegraph.  "Cant  you  appoint  me  Commis 
sioner  for  the  Indians  or  Chief  Clerk  my  knowl 
edge  California  titles  would  be  valuable",  was 
the  message  received  from  a  citizen  of  Du- 
buque.568 

The  pressure  from  Iowa  was  especially 
strong.  People  in  this  State  seemed  to  feel  that 
this  was  their  great  opportunity  to  secure 
lucrative  government  positions.  In  fact,  the 
number  of  applications  was  so  large  that  Kirk- 
wood  declared  that  if  he  should  fill  all  the  avail 
able  positions  with  lowans  there  would  still  be 
many  worthy  applicants  to  be  disappointed, 
while  the  rest  of  the  country  would  be  entirely 
ignored.  He  could  not  in  fairness  give  Iowa 
more  than  its  fair  proportion  of  appoint 
ments. r><:9  That  he  did  for  his  own  State  all  that 
could  reasonably  be  expected  is  evidenced  by 


SECRETARY  OP  THE  INTERIOR       363 

the  number  of  appointments.  Besides  the 
choice  of  Hiram  Price  as  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs,  twenty-six  Iowa  men  and  women 
were  given  positions  in  the  various  bureaus  of 
the  Department,  in  addition  to  those  already 
there.570 

The  one  year  during  which  Samuel  J.  Kirk- 
wood  held  the  portfolio  of  the  Interior  was  not 
marked  by  any  notable  constructive  activity. 
By  the  time  he  had  become  partially  acquainted 
with  the  details  of  the  work  of  the  various  and 
wholly  unrelated  bureaus  of  the  Department 
there  occurred  the  fatal  event  which  robbed  the 
Nation  of  its  President.  Afterwards  the  tenure 
of  his  position  was  so  uncertain  as  not  to 
justify  the  inauguration  of  any  distinctive  pol 
icies.  And  it  must  be  admitted  that  Secretary 
Kirkwood  lacked  the  genius  for  administration 
of  the  type  required  in  the  Department  of  the 
Interior.  He  was  so  good-natured  that  he 
could  not  rid  himself  of  the  swarms  of  office- 
seekers  and  visitors  who  infested  his  office.  At 
the  same  time  he  insisted  on  seeing  personally 
practically  all  the  correspondence  which  went 
through  the  office.  The  result  was  that  the  cor 
respondence  was  often  neglected.  "Letters  and 
documents  are  piled  up  several  feet  high  over 
Kirkwood 's  desk,"  it  was  said  at  one  time,  no 
doubt  with  some  exaggeration,  "while  bales  of 
them  are  in  adjoining  rooms  awaiting  his 
attention."571 


364  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Indian  affairs,  however,  constituted  one 
phase  of  the  work  of  his  office  with  which  Secre 
tary  Kirkwood  was  particularly  familiar  be 
cause  of  his  experience  in  the  Senate;  and  on 
this  subject  he  had  a  definite  policy.  Within 
two  days  after  assuming  the  duties  of  his  new 
office  he  had  a  two-days  "talk"  with  a  dele 
gation  of  Ute  Indians.  In  spite  of  criticism 
emanating  from  Massachusetts  to  the  effect  that 
Kirkwood 's  motto  was  that  the  "only  good 
Indian  is  a  dead  one",  a  Washington  editor 
praised  the  Secretary's  attitude.  "Mr.  Kirk 
wood  is  a  man  of  kindly  feelings  and  of  great 
practical  experience",  declared  the  editor. 
"His  Indian  policy  will  be  as  far  removed  from 
the  ' brutalities  of  the  frontier'  as  from  the 
'sloppy'  sentimentality  of  these  perturbed  re 
formers."572 

About  the  middle  of  April  there  came  a  copy 
of  one  of  Joaquin  Miller's  books  on  the  Indians, 
accompanied  by  a  letter.  "I  trust  Sir",  said 
the  author,  '  *  the  Indian  will  have  rest  and  peace 
under  your  care.  I  know  the  Indian  well. 
Perhaps  better  than  any  man  that  ever  wrote  a 
book  about  him.  And  I  affirm  he  is  not  a  bad 
man."  He  was  glad  to  offer  his  services,  if  the 
Secretary  could  find  any  use  for  them.  "And 
then  I  am  not  entirely  unselfish  in  this  desire  to 
serve  the  Indians",  he  continued,  "for  I  am  so 
weary  of  books  and  want  once  more  to  get  out 
in  my  roomy  West."573 


SECRETARY  OF  THE  INTERIOR       365 

"I  have  received  your  note  of  the  16th  inst., 
as  well  as  the  volume  to  which  it  refers,  and 
thank  you  very  much",  was  Kirkwood's  reply. 
"I  think  the  Indian  is  a  man,  and  that  in  all 
our  relations  with  him  strict  justice  should  be 
done,  with  a  decided  leaning  to  that  mercy 
which  the  strong  should  always  show  toward 
the  weak."574 

This  desire  to  deal  justly  with  the  Indians  is 
also  expressed  in  the  Secretary's  letters  to 
inspectors  of  Indian  agencies.  "You  will  here 
after  exercise  due  caution,  and  make  no  prom 
ises  to  the  Indians  which  have  not  first  been 
authorized  by  the  Department",  he  instructed 
one  inspector.575  "In  the  performance  of  your 
duties  as  inspector",  he  wrote  to  another,  "you 
will,  on  visiting  the  various  agencies,  carefully 
observe  everything  connected  therewith  affect 
ing  the  interest  and  well-being  of  the  Indians 
and  the  public  interest,  and  forward  to  this 
Office  a  full  and  particular  report  in  writing  of 
your  observations  with  such  recommendations 
as  may  seem  to  you  proper ;  your  reports  should 
give  verbal  photographic  views  of  each  agency. 
.  .  .  In  short,  you  are  the  eyes  through 
which  this  Office  must  see  and  judge  of  what  is 
being  done  at  each  agency,  and  upon  your 
intelligence,  accuracy,  and  impartiality  largely 
depends  its  power  to  properly  direct  its  oper 
ations."576 


366  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

The  Indian  policy  of  Secretary  Kirkwood,  as 
might  be  expected,  was  most  clearly  set  forth  in 
his  report,  which  was  made  on  November  1, 
ls^l.  He  urged  larger  expenditures  for  the 
education  of  the  Indians  and  especially  for  the 
teaching  of  agriculture.  lie  believed  that  the 
Indians'  title  to  land  should  be  made  as  valid 
and  placed  as  fully  under  the  protection  of  the 
courts  as  the  titles  of  the  white  settlers.  "In 
the  case  of  the  Indian,"  he  said,  "he  may  have 
the  privilege  of  keeping  his  home  if  he  will 
sever  the  ties  of  kinship  and  remain  behind  his 
tribe;  but  few  do  this.  I  wish  to  emphasize  the 
point  that  we  are  asking  too  much  of  the  Indian 
when  we  ask  him  to  build  up  a  farm  in  the 
timber  or  on  the  prairie,  with  the  belief  that  at 
some  future  time  he  will  be  compelled  to  choose 
between  abandoning  the  fruits  of  his  labor,  or 
his  kindred  and  tribe.  White  men  would  not  do 
so,  and  we  should  not  ask  Indians  to  do  so." 
Along  with  this  recommendation  he  advocated 
the  reduction  of  both  the  size  and  number  of  the 
reservations.  r'7T 

On  July  2nd,  as  President  Garfield  was  about 
to  take  the  train  to  visit  his  alma  wafer, 
Williams  College,  he  was  shot  by  the  assassin, 
Charles  J.  Guiteau.  For  more  than  three 
months  he  lingered  between  life  and  death ;  and 
for  his  official  family  it  was  a  period  of  alter 
nate  hope  and  despair. 


SECRETARY  OF  THE  INTERIOR   367 

Mrs.  Kirkwood  was  in  Iowa  City  during  the 
summer  of  1881,  but  her  husband,  who  spent 
much  time  at  the  White  House,  frequently  sent 
her  official  bulletins  telling  of  the  President's 
condition,  often  writing  a  brief  note  on  the 
back.  "The  Doctors  are  quite  encouraged",  he 
wrote  as  late  as  August  28th,  "and  speak  so 
much  more  hopefully  that  even  Mac  Veagh  is 
cheerful  &  hopeful  this  morning.  Of  course  all 
this  may  be  lost  and  the  worst  may  yet  happen, 
but  the  prospect  of  a  favorable  result  is  much 
brighter.  "578 

It  was  during  this  period  when  there  was 
some  hope  that  the  President  might  recover, 
that  Secretary  Kirkwood  leased  a  house,  at 
seventy-five  dollars  a  month,  where  he  and  Mrs. 
Kirkwood  might  live  more  comfortably  and  in  a 
manner  more  fitting  to  their  station.  "I  sleep 
'on  the  hill'  to-night",  he  wrote  on  the  last  day 
of  August,  "Charley  sleeps  in  the  House  with 
me.  I  think  we  will  like  it  there  but  there  will 
be  some  fixing  up  to  do  when  you  get  here. 
They  cleaned  up  some,  but  think  you  will  be 
inclined  to  do  some  more.  Mrs.  Price  says  she 
thinks  she  can  get  us  a  good  girl  here  that  she 
knows.  The  girl  tells  Mrs.  Price  she  will  wait  3 
or  four  weeks  if  she  can  be  sure  of  the  place. 
She  is  a  white  girl,  some  thirty  years  old- 
says  she  can  cook,  wash,  iron  &  do  any  thing. 
What  shall  I  do  about  it?  I  took  dinner  at 
Prices  to-day."579 


368  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

The  hope  inspired  by  the  President's  rally 
hi  to  in  August  was  of  short  duration.  Gradu 
ally  lie  grow  weaker,  and  on  September  19th  he 
died,  mourned  by  the  entire  Nation. 

On  September  22nd,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
Secretary  Kirkwood  tendered  his  resignation  to 
President  Arthur.  Although  he  fully  expected 
that  it  would  be  accepted,  there  were  several 
months  of  uncertainty.  He  remained  in  the 
Cabinet,  looking  after  the  regular  work  of  his 
Department.  In  the  midst  of  the  brilliancy  of 
Washington  society  during  the  winter  the 
Kirkwoods  were  noted  for  their  simplicity. 
"He  has  a  strong,  shrewd,  kindly  face,  with 
high  cheek-bones,  deep  wrinkles  and  heavy  eye 
brows",  was  a  reporter's  description  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior.  "A  remnant  of 
whisker  is  allowed  to  escape  the  barber  high  up 
on  each  cheek.  The  gray  does  not  yet  dominate 
over  the  brown  in  his  hair.  His  clothes  look  as 
if  a  village  tailor  had  constructed  them  under 
strict  orders  to  pay  no  attention  to  fashion- 
plates  and  to  make  them  ample,  strong  and  com 
fortable.  The  big  slouch  hat  which  he  wears  on 
the  street  must  be  a  veteran  of  many  contests 
with  wind  and  rain  on  the  Iowa  prairies.  Its 
owner  never  minds  the  shape  it  gets  into  when 
he  swings  it  upon  his  head,  takes  his  stout  stick 
and  strides  out  of  his  office.  .  .  .  This 
farmer-looking  man  carries  a  vigorous,  prac- 


SECRETARY  OF  THE  INTERIOR   369 

tical  brain  under  his  felt  hat,  and  a  warm  heart 
under  his  loose  sack  coat." 

Mrs.  Kirkwood  likewise  received  her  full 
share  of  notice.  "Her  face  makes  one  feel 
happy  and  kindly  everytime  it  is  looked  upon ' ', 
declared  one  writer.  "Her  sweet,  motherly 
ways,  low-toned  pleasant  voice,  mild,  brown- 
colored  eyes  and  dark  hair,  combed  smoothly 
over  her  serene  brow  and  countenance  is  full 
of  matronly  grace  and  goodness.  We  are  sure 
her  husband  was  never  crossed  in  his  blessed 
life.  Even  his  pet  cigar  is  respected  by  his 
wife.  It  rests  one  to  meet  these  women  who  are 
strong  in  the  highest  essentials  of  patience, 
prudence,  and  the  rich  experience  of  a  happy 
and  complete  home  life."580 

Finally,  in  the  spring  of  1882,  President 
Arthur  appointed  Henry  M.  Teller  of  Colorado 
as  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  On  April  15th, 
therefore,  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  bade  farewell  to 
all  the  employees  in  the  Department,  and  early 
in  the  following  week  departed  for  his  home  in 
Iowa.  * l  The  retirement  of  Mr.  Kirkwood  from 
the  Interior  Department",  was  the  comment  of 
a  Washington  editor,  "is  in  more  than  one 
respect  to  be  regretted.  ...  he  brought  to 
his  new  position,  a  reputation  for  usefulness 
and  capacity  in  public  affairs  extending  over 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  such  as  any  man 
might  envy.  .  .  .  He  had  also  practical 

25 


370  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

ideas  of  his  own  relative  to  the  Civil  Service, 
which,  in  the  face  of  considerable  opposition 
.  ...  he  proceeded  at  once  to  enforce.  .  .  . 
He  has  proved  himself  an  able,  sagacious  Secre 
tary,  above  all  suspicion  of  corruption  or  favor 
itism.  .  .  .  He  goes  back  to  Iowa  .... 
with  the  record  of  a  man  who  served  his  party 
with  zeal,  but,  in  the  heat  of  partisanship,  kept 
steadily  in  view  the  obligation  which  he  owed 
his  country."581 


XXXI 

LAST  PARTICIPATION  IN  POLITICS 

WHEN  Kirkwood  retired  from  the  Cabinet  in 
April,  1882,  he  was  nearly  seventy  years  of  age, 
although  remarkably  robust  in  body  and  alert 
in  mind.  His  retirement  from  office,  therefore, 
did  not  mean  immediate  withdrawal  from  public 
affairs.  His  appointment  as  a  member  of  the 
Tariff  Commission  had  been  practically  agreed 
upon,  but  there  was  some  slip  and  the  plan  fell 
through.  "Personally  I  felt  much  vexed,  for  I 
had  hoped  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you 
and  Mrs.  Kirkwood  here  very  soon",  wrote  the 
new  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  "Mrs.  Teller 
was  also  much  disappointed.  I  do  not  know 
what  you  want,  but  I  do  know  that  the  Presi 
dent  is  disposed  to  do  whatever  you  ask  him  to 
do.  He  appeared  to  be  much  worried  over  the 
failure  to  put  you  on  the  commission.  "582 

Shortly  after  his  return  to  his  home  Mr. 
Kirkwood  became  president  of  the  Iowa  City 
National  Bank.  During  the  latter  part  of  June 
he  served  with  Governor  Buren  R.  Sherman 
and  Augustus  C.  Dodge  on  a  committee  to  col 
lect  funds  for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers  from 

371 


372  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

the  disastrous  tornado  at  Grinnell.  In  the  fall 
lie  delivered  an  address  at  the  Iowa  State 
Fair.583 

The  political  campaign  of  1883  was  one  of 
great  interest.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the 
Republican  party  definitely  espoused  the  cause 
of  prohibition.  This  was  an  issue  on  which  Mr. 
Kirkwood  found  himself  at  variance  with  a 
majority  of  the  members  of  the  party.  Espe 
cially  did  he  object  to  the  action  of  the  State 
convention  in  rejecting  James  G.  Day  as  its 
candidate  for  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
because  of  his  decision  against  the  validity  of 
the  prohibitory  constitutional  amendment. 
Kirkwood  considered  this  action  as  unjust  and 
as  an  attempt  to  exert  undue  influence  on  the 
decisions  of  the  Court.  He  frankly  and  publicly 
declared  his  intention  to  vote  against  Joseph  R. 
Reed,  who  received  the  nomination  instead  of 
Day.  For  this  attitude  he  received  both  praise 
and  censure.584  "I  have  been  inexpressibly 
pained  by  the  course  of  the  State  press  toward 
you",  wrote  a  citizen  of  Waterloo.  "Honesty 
of  purpose  and  strength  of  conviction  count  for 
naught  with  the  demagogues  who  framed  a 
plank  in  our  platform  which  is  as  glaringly 
fraudulent  and  dishonest  as  their  action  in  the 
convention  was  communistic  and  damnable."585 

Prohibition  and  all  the  other  issues  of  the 
campaign  were  soon  forgotten,  however,  in  the 


LAST  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGN          373 

pleasure  of  a  journey  to  the  Far  West.  "I  tele 
graphed  you  yesterday  to  know  if  you  would 
accept  a  position  as  commissioner  to  examine 
the  Oregon  and  California  line  of  road",  wrote 
Secretary  Teller  about  the  middle  of  June,  1883. 
"The  President  said  he  would  like  to  give  it  to 
you,  and  we  thought  you  might  not  have  much 
on  hand,  and  would  like  to  take  Mrs.  Kirkwood 
and  make  a  trip  to  California,  and  then  to  Port 
land,  and  by  the  time  you  got  through  the  N.  P. 
R.  R.  would  be  completed  or  nearly  so,  and  you 
could  come  back  that  way."586 

This  journey,  with  the  opportunity  it  offered 
to  visit  the  great  Northwest,  then  just  at  the 
beginning  of  its  development,  was  greatly  en 
joyed  by  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kirkwood.  At 
Tacoma  they  attended  a  banquet  in  honor  of  a 
member  of  the  party  whose  investments  of 
capital  were  among  the  factors  in  promoting 
the  growth  of  the  town.  In  the  course  of  a 
brief  address  on  this  occasion  Mr.  Kirkwood 
referred  to  the  West  as  "the  grand  college,  the 
university  where  the  great  subject  taught  is 
common  sense."  "You  must  know",  he  said, 
"that  the  true  Bostonian  sun  rises  behind 
Plymouth  Rock,  stops  for  a  time  over  Faneuil 
Hall  in  Boston,  and  sets  near  the  mouth  of 
Hoosic  Tunnel."  The  Virginian  likewise  be 
lieved  that  "the  sun  rises  at  the  head  of  Chesa 
peake  Bay,  pauses  and  takes  off  its  hat  as  it 


374  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

passes  Mt.  Vernon  where  Washington  died,  and 
sets  somewhere  on  the  Kanawha  river."  But 
both  Bostonians  and  Virginians  soon  laid  aside 
these  inherited  ideas  when  they  took  up  homes 
in  the  West,  where  the  "typical  American"  was 
being  reared.587 

The  next  three  years  passed  uneventfully. 
Mr.  Kirkwood  lived  quietly  in  his  home  on  the 
outskirts  of  town,  devoting  his  time  chiefly  to 
the  duties  of  his  position  as  bank  president. 
Occasionally  he  made  speeches,  chiefly  on  patri 
otic  occasions  or  at  soldiers'  reunions.588 

Then  in  the  summer  of  1886  Samuel  J.  Kirk- 
wood  became  again  and  for  the  last  time  a 
candidate  for  public  office.  On  August  19th  he 
was  nominated  as  Representative  in  Congress 
from  the  Second  Congressional  District,  under 
circumstances  which  made  his  defeat  practically 
certain.  The  district  convention  of  the  Repub 
lican  party,  which  met  at  Davenport  on  that 
day,  was  described  as  "most  disorderly  and 
inharmonious".  Two  irreconcilable  factions 
were  present.  One,  consisting  of  the  delegates 
from  Clinton,  Jackson,  and  Muscatine  counties, 
were  in  favor  of  fusion  with  the  Knights  of 
Labor  and  the  nomination  of  T.  J.  O'Meara. 
The  other  faction,  composed  of  the  delegates 
from  Scott,  Johnson,  and  Iowa  counties,  op 
posed  fusion  and  insisted  on  the  nomination  of 
Mr.  Kirkwood.  Neither  side  would  give  way; 


LAST  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGN          375 

bitter  and  denunciatory  speeches  were  made; 
and  finally  each  faction  nominated  its  own 
candidate.589  Afterward  each  side  claimed  to 
be  the  Republican  party  of  the  district. 

After  due  deliberation  Kirkwood  decided  to 
accept  the  nomination.  Immediately,  as  might 
be  expected,  he  was  the  recipient  of  many  let 
ters  of  praise  and  blame.  Republican  leaders 
outside  of  the  district  as  a  rule  commended 
him;  while  within  the  district  he  had  many 
warm  supporters.  '  *  This  I  want  to  say, ' '  wrote 
Edward  Russell  of  Davenport,  "in  the  language 
of  Sumner  to  Grant—  < STICK V590 

On  the  other  hand,  his  acceptance  of  the  nom 
ination  was  greeted  with  great  disfavor  by 
those  who  believed  that  in  fusion  lay  the  only 
hope  of  defeating  the  Democratic  candidate, 
Walter  I.  Hayes.  "I  speak  frank  to  you  Gov 
ernor,''  wrote  J.  C.  Root  of  Lyons,  "and  I  am 
honest  in  my  convictions,  and  would  be  sorry  to 
see  you,  after  a  life  of  victories,  to  now  begin  to 
taste  defeat,  and  snow  us  under  beyond  resur 
rection.  ' '  "  Some  call  it  heroic  for  Kirkwood  to 
run",  was  the  comment  of  a  Wapello  editor. 
"So  w^as  it  heroic  for  Don  Quixote  to  charge 
the  wind  mill,  but  it  was  very  absurd,  for  all 
that.  .  .  .  It  is  an  ill-advised  piece  of  work 
that  the  old  war  governor  would  not  have 
engaged  in,  in  his  palmier  days."  Another 
writer  reminded  him  of  the  fate  of  Horace 


376  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Greeley,  James  B.  Weaver,  and  other  men  who 
had  bolted  from  their  party.591 

Kirkwood's  age  was  another  ground  for 
objection  to  him.  "Did  you  know  the  war  was 
over"?  asked  a  citizen  of  Muscatine.  "I 
thought  I'd  tell  you.  You  have  heard  the  old 
saying  i  once  a  man  &  twice  a  child. '  It  is  the 
opinion  of  people  generally  that  you  have 
entered  into  the  3rd  period  contemplated  in  this 
old  adage. "  Other  letters  from  the  same  writer 
were  addressed  to  "My  Dear  Grandfather", 
and  one  closed  with  the  expression  of  "due 
sorrow  for  your  condition".  He  was  constantly 
sending  Kirkwood  newspaper  clippings  adverse 
to  him.  "Do  not  think  me  undutifull  in  failing 
to  reply  to  your  two  late  letters",  he  wrote 
shortly  before  the  election,  "but  you  must 
remember  children  &  old  people  have  more 
time  than  those  in  middle  life."592 

In  spite  of  all  discouragements,  however, 
Kirkwood  fought  the  campaign  to  the  end. 
Believing  firmly  in  the  preservation  of  party 
integrity,  he  felt  that  the  action  of  the  fusionist 
faction  was  wholly  irregular  and  dangerous, 
because  it  had  chosen  a  candidate  who  did  not 
hold  to  Republican  principles.  "I  squarely 
deny  the  right  and  the  power  of  a  political  dele 
gate  convention  to  compel  its  constituents  either 
to  lose  their  votes  or  to  cast  them  for  one  not  of 
their  political  faith",  he  said  in  a  public  letter 


LAST  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGN          377 

written  the  last  of  August.  "I  regret  only  that 
the  necessity  of  the  situation  seemed  finally  to 
require  my  nomination.  But  some  Republican 
was  required  to  take  up  the  burden,  and  as  the 
choice  fell  upon  me,  I  accept  it  cheerfully  with 
whatever  of  responsibility  may  attach  to  the 
act,  and  shall  do  the  best  I  can  to  justify  the 
choice.  "593 

It  was  a  forlorn  hope,  and  the  candidate  was 
well  aware  of  the  fact.  Nevertheless,  he  made  a 
thorough  canvass  of  the  district,  beginning  with 
a  vigorous  speech  at  Davenport  on  September 
24th.  Senator  Allison  and  Hiram  Price  were 
also  scheduled  to  speak  in  his  support.594  The 
latter,  however,  did  not  take  part  in  the  cam 
paign.  Early  in  October  he  wrote  from  Wash 
ington  that  he  feared,  because  of  his  strong 
prohibition  views,  he  would  do  more  harm  than 
good,  but  he  would  pay  one  hundred  dollars  to 
secure  another  speaker.  "If  you  say  send  the 
check  I  '11  send  it,  if  you  say  come  I  '11  do  it  if  it 
kills  me."  Later  a  mutual  friend  in  Washing 
ton  wrote  to  Kirkwood  that  Price  "reminds  me 
of  an  imprisoned  hound  (no  unkind  reflections 
meant)  who  hears  the  blowing  of  the  hunter's 
horn  and  the  yelp  of  the  pursuing  dogs,  but 
cannot  break  away  to  join  in  the  chase." 

The  same  writer  sent  Kirkwood  a  box  of 
Potomac  herring,  which  he  knew  the  candidate 
would  enjoy  whether  he  won  or  lost.  "In  the 


378  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

one  event",  he  said,  "they  will  aid  your  reflec 
tions  on  the  *  journey  up  Salt  River;'  in  the 
other  they  will  give  a  foretaste  of  coming  pleas 
ures  beside  the  quiet  Potomac."595 

It  was  not  Kirkwood's  destiny,  however,  to 
return  to  Washington  in  an  official  capacity. 
Walter  I.  Hayes  was  elected  Congressman, 
although  between  his  two  opponents  were 
divided  a  sufficient  number  of  votes  to  have 
defeated  him  if  they  had  all  been  cast  for  one 
candidate.590  Thus  in  his  last  campaign  for 
office  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  met  defeat. 


XXXII 

THE  CLOSING  YEAES 

THE  last  eight  years  of  Mr.  Kirkwood's  life 
were  years  of  peace  and  quietness.  Retro- 
spection  now  came  largely  to  take  the  place  of 
anticipation.  Bodily  strength  began  gradually 
to  fail,  so  that  the  task  of  a  walk  to  the  office, 
fully  a  mile  from  his  home,  became  too  great  to 
be  attempted  on  stormy  days.  Occasionally 
still  he  responded  to  requests  to  address  sol 
diers'  reunions,  and  nearly  always  he  urged  his 
hearers  to  commit  to  paper  their  recollections 
of  their  every-day  life  in  the  army.597  He  con 
templated  the  carrying  of  this  preaching  into 
effect  in  his  own  case  by  the  writing  of  an  auto 
biography.598  But  this  plan  never  came  to 
fruition,  partly  no  doubt  because  he  was  given 
the  opportunity  to  assist  Mr.  Henry  W.  Lathrop 
in  the  writing  of  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel 
J.  Kirkwood,  published  in  1893. 

Year  by  year  Mr.  Kirkwood  spent  more  and 
more  of  his  time  at  his  home.  Always  fond  of 
reading,  he  now  found  ample  opportunity  to 
indulge  his  tastes  in  this  direction.  Residents 
of  Iowa  City  remember  him  as  he  sat  on  the 

379 


380  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

veranda  of  his  home  on  summer  evenings, 
smoking*  a  cigar,  while  Mrs.  Kirkwood  sat 
near  by  with  her  knitting.  Nearly  always,  as  in 
nil  the  years  of  their  life  in  Iowa,  there  wrere 
children  or  young  people  about  the  home  —  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  relatives  or  friends. 

Especially  enjoyable  during  these  declining 
years  were  the  letters  and  visits  of  old  friends. 
On  December  20,  1886,  Hiram  Price  wrote  from 
Washington  congratulating  Kirkwood  upon 
reaching  his  seventy-fourth  birthday.  "I  wrote 
you  on  your  birthday, ' '  ran  another  letter  from 
Price  in  January,  1887,  "to  which  you  kindly 
and  promptly  replied,  and  now  I  write  you  on 
•wy  birthday.  Seventy  three  eventful  years  are 
behind  both  of  us.  .  .  .  There  is  much  food 
for  thought  in  a  retrospect  of  73  years  of  active, 
earnest  life.  What  changes,  what  surprises, 
what  disappointments  ....  what  a  kaleido 
scopic  panorama  it  enrolls  before  us.  .  .  . 
I  think  I  may  fairly  infer  from  your  letter  that 
you  attribute,  (to  some  extent  at  least)  your 
physical,  financial  and  political  success  to  three 
things.  To  wit.  Firxt.  Mush  and  milk,  Second. 
Burns'  poems,  and  third,  the  shorter  cate 
chism."™' 

"I  can  remember,"  wrote  Grenville  M.  Dodge 
several  years  later,  "when  you  were  first  run 
ning  for  governor,  of  traveling  over  West  Iowa 
with  you,  when  you  were  stumping  that  portion 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  381 

of  the  State,  and  of  our  long  acquaintance  from 
that  day  until  you  left  public  life.  ...  I 
shall  never  forget  how  loyally  and  sensibly  you 
sustained  us  during  the  war,  so  different  from 
many  governors,  in  promoting  the  men  in  our 
regiments  whom  we  in  the  field  recommended. 
That  was  one  reason  of  the  great  efficiency  in 
line  of  battle  of  the  Iowa  troops."600 

Late  in  September,  1892,  Mr.  Kirkwood,  then 
nearly  eighty  years  of  age,  received  an  ovation 
such  as  comes  to  few  men  during  their  lifetime. 
It  was  ex-Governor  Buren  E.  Sherman  who  con 
ceived  the  plan  of  having  a  gathering  of  old 
friends  at  Iowa  City  in  honor  of  the  old  war 
time  executive.  The  idea  met  with  favor  and 
fifty  or  more  invitations  were  sent  out.601 

The  twenty-eighth  of  September  was  a  beauti 
ful  autumn  day.  The  Kirkwood  home  "  never 
showed  to  better  advantage  than  on  that  after 
noon;  lawn  and  tree,  flower  and  vines,  forming 
an  almost  pastoral  setting  to  the  scene,  and 
bringing  to  some  who  came  from  busy  city  life 
a  scene  of  peace  and  rest  that  told  of  the  days 
of  quiet  enjoyment  and  care-free  repose  they 
would  gladly  secure." 

By  noon  there  had  gathered  at  the  old  St. 
James  Hotel  about  thirty  men  who  had  known 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  intimately  for  many  years, 
and  most  of  whom  had  been  connected  with  him 
in  some  official  capacity.  Among  those  in  the 


382  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

group,  many  of  whom  had  journeyed  across  the 
State  to  pay  their  respects  to  their  friend, 
were  Buren  R.  Sherman,  George  G.  Wright, 
W.  H.  M.  Pusey,  Charles  Aldrich,  John  Russell, 
S.  S.  Farwell,  James  H.  Rothrock,  Gifford  S. 
Robinson,  B.  F.  Gue,  William  T.  Smith,  William 
G.  Thompson,  R.  S.  Finkbine,  James  A.  Wil 
liamson,  Peter  A.  Dey,  Samuel  H.  Fairall, 
Charles  A.  Schaeffer,  John  Springer,  N.  H. 
Brainerd,  and  Henry  W.  Lathrop. 

At  one-thirty  the  members  of  the  party  were 
conducted  to  the  finest  carriages  which  Iowa 
City  afforded,  "and  it  was  a  most  interesting 
ride  for  the  visitors  through  the  city  to  the 
Governor's  home."  Upon  their  arrival  they 
were  ushered  into  the  house  by  Mr.  Lathrop, 
and  there  they  found  the  ex-Governor  sitting  in 
his  favorite  easy  chair  at  one  end  of  the  room. 
When  all  had  been  seated,  George  G.  Wright, 
formerly  Justice  of  the  Iowa  Supreme  Court 
and  United  States  Senator  and  one  of  Kirk- 
wood's  warmest  friends,  spoke  briefly  of  the 
reason  for  which  they  were  assembled.  "Gov 
ernor  Kirkwood,"  he  said,  "we  are  here  as 
your  friends,  to  take  you  by  the  hand  and  tell 
you  how  much  we  like  you.  .  .  .  Some  of 
your  friends  suggested  that  we  come  without 
giving  you  notice  and  take  you  by  surprise,  but 
I  objected  for  several  reasons.  I  knew  you  had 
been  quite  unaccustomed  to  making  public 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  383 

speeches  [laughter]  and  if  we  should  come  and 
take  you  by  surprise  you  might  not  be  equal  to 
the  occasion.  [Laughter]  Then  again,  we  all 
know  how  anxious  you  are  about  your  attire, 
and  if  we  should  come  without  notice  you  would 
not  have  time  to  put  on  your  dress  suit  and 
diamond  pin,  and  especially  that  steel  watch 
chain  which  was  your  inspiration  and  the  ad 
miration  in  days  gone  by  of  those  large  crowds 
to  whom  you  spoke. M 

"We  are  here  as  friends,'7  he  continued, 
"and  without  regard  to  political  distinction. 
We  are  here  Democrats  and  Kepublicans  .  . 
.  .  We  come  to  greet  you,  to  give  you  proof 
of  our  esteem  and  kindly  feeling,  to  congratu 
late  you  in  your  happy  home,  as  also  your 
devoted,  helpful  wife;  because  we  know  how 
much  you  have  done  for  Iowa,  and  for  the 
nation.  Amid  the  din  and  clangor  of  arms,  and 
with  this  nation  hanging,  trembling  in  the  bal 
ance,  you,  as  the  chief  executive  of  the  State, 
were  true  to  your  high  principles,  and  to  your 
sense  of  duty,  to  pure  ideas  and  thoughts  and 
principles.  Because  you  were  faithful,  for  this 
we  love  you,  we  come  to  see  you  this  day." 

"And  now,  Governor  Kirkwood,"  he  said  in 
conclusion,  "I  take  you  by  the  hand,  and  in 
behalf  of  the  people  of  Iowa,  for  the  friends 
here  (for  I  know  the  kindness  that  prompts 
their  coming),  and  they  join  with  me  in  saying, 


384  SAMUEL  J.  KIHKWOOD 

'May  God  bless  yon,  and  your  wife,  and  your 
home.  May  a  kind  Providence  that  has  been  so 
kind  to  you,  still  longer  bless  you,  and  preserve 
you  many  years  to  Iowa  and  the  nation. ' 

Visibly  affected  by  these  expressions  of  affec 
tion,  Mr.  Kirkwood  made  a  few  remarks  indica 
tive  of  his  appreciation  of  the  honor  conferred 
upon  him  by  his  guests.  Afterward  he  shook 
each  man's  hand.  Cigars  were  passed  and  a 
pleasant  half-hour  was  spent  on  the  lawn  in 
friendly  recollections  of  days  long  gone  by. 
The  guests  were  then  asked  to  gather  in  a  group 
and  a  photograph  was  taken  —  a  photograph 
which  reveals  the  faces  of  more  than  thirty 
gray-haired  men. 

Several  other  members  of  the  party  now 
made  brief  addresses,  none  of  them  more  elo 
quent  than  that  of  William  G.  Thompson  of 
Marion.  "I  have  known  you  Governor,  for 
thirty-six  years ;  in  law-making  and  law-ex 
pounding,  you  were  my  Mentor.  Legislation 
under  your  guidance,  w^as  directed  to  the  future, 
not  less  than  for  the  present,  and  laws  were 
made  that  stood  the  test  of  time  and  stand 
to-day.  .  .  .  Whatever  the  future  may  have 
in  store,  your  reputation  and  your  fame  are 
secure  to  the  people  and  the  coming  genera 
tions." 

Letters  from  friends  who  could  not  come 
were  also  read.  "It  is  but  just",  wrote  Samuel 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  385 

Murdock,  "and  in  keeping  with  the  history  of 
that  noble  old  man,  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  that 
those  of  his  contemporaries  who  have  known 
him  best  and  have  passed  with  him  through  all 
of  his  great  and  heroic  struggles,  that  have 
rendered  his  name  immortal  for  all  coming 
time,  should  in  his  decline  meet  once  more  at 
his  domestic  fireside,  and  while  all  still  live, 
there  congratulate  him  on  the  achievements  of 
a  long  and  useful  life,  crowded  full  with  the 
events  of  his  country's  history,  in  which  his 
name  and  his  fame  will  be  forever  mingled. " 

Jacob  Eich  wrote  of  his  deep  regret  that  he 
could  not  be  present  to  express  in  person  his 
admiration  and  affection.  "I  regret  that  I  am 
so  pressed  for  time  before  going  to  Washing 
ton,  or  I  would  come  to  call  upon  you  as  a  loving 
son  would  visit  his  Father ",  was  the  letter 
which  came  from  David  B.  Henderson.  "But  I 
send  you  affectionate  greetings  and  trust  that 
the  coming  winter  will  deal  kindly  with  you  and 
that  you  may  long  be  spared  to  us  as  a  tender 
warming  influence  to  your  devoted  people.  "602 

Thus  the  afternoon  passed  rapidly  in  the  ex 
pression  of  friendship  and  admiration,  and  the 
time  came  when  some  of  the  guests  must  go  to 
the  train  which  would  take  them  to  their  homes. 
Before  they  went,  however,  Mrs.  Kirkwood 
insisted  that  they  must  partake  of  her  hospi 
tality,  and  so  coffee  and  sandwiches  "were 

26 


886  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

served  on  the  lawn  under  her  direction  and 
with  the  assistance  of  Mrs.  Rachel  Pritchard, 
Mrs.  L.  C.  Jewett,  Mrs.  A.  M.  Greer,  Misses 
Etta  and  Annie  Jewett,  and  Mrs.  Pritchard 's 
pretty  little  daughter."  Then  with  "hearty 
hand  clasps,  fervent  prayers  of  blessings"  yet 
to  come  to  the  Old  War  Governor,  and  "good 
byes",  the  guests  departed. 

The  following  summer,  on  June  120,  1893,  in 
the  Governor's  reception  room  in  the  State 
House  at  Des  Moines,  there  was  another  cere 
mony,  more  formal  but  equally  expressive  of 
the  affection  which  the  people  of  Iowa  bore  to 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  who  was  at  his  home  in 
Iowa  City  too  feeble  to  attend.  At  that  time 
there  was  unveiled  a  large  oil  portrait  of  the 
old  Governor,  paid  for  by  the  people  of  Iowa 
through  an  appropriation  by  the  legislature, 
and  painted  by  a  distinguished  Iowa  artist  - 
George  II.  Yewell.  Again  there  were  speeches 
eulogistic  of  the  man  whose  days  were  drawing 
so  near  to  a  close.  And  thus  there  came  to  him 
while  he  yet  lived  the  praise  and  evidences  of 
affection  which  too  often  the  public  bestows  on 
its  servants  only  after  they  are  gone.'io:l 

The  sands  in  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood 's  hour 
glass  were  now  running  low.  After  a  brief  ill 
ness  he  passed  away,  calmly  as  one  falling  to 
sleep,  on  September  1,  1894  —  Mrs.  Kirkwood 's 
birthday.  Iowa  City  and  all  Iowa  mourned 
him.  Newspapers  far  and  near  paid  tribute  to 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  387 

his  memory.  And  once  again  many  old  friends 
journeyed  to  Iowa  City  to  attend  the  funeral 
and  pay  their  last  respects  to  his  memory. 
With  fitting  ceremonies  he  was  buried  in  beauti 
ful  Oakland  Cemetery;  and  Mrs.  Kirkwood 
went  back  to  the  old  home,  where  she  is  still 
living  as  these  lines  are  written. 

There  is  no  need  for  an  interpretation  of 
the  character  and  services  of  Governor  Kirk- 
wood.  His  words  and  actions  speak  so  clearly 
that  he  who  reads  may  learn  from  them  what 
sort  of  man  he  was.  The  estimate  of  his  con 
temporaries  leaves  no  doubt  of  his  place  among 
the  men  of  his  generation.  The  years  as  they 
passed  brought  ample  fulfillment  to  the  pro 
phetic  words,  already  quoted,  which  were  writ 
ten  by  the  venerable  Eliphalet  Price  in  1863 : 
"No  Governor  of  Iowa,  while  acting  as  such, 
extended  the  area  of  his  personal  acquaintance 
so  widely  over  the  State  as  yourself.  Men  and 
women  everywhere,  will,  as  time  rolls  on,  en 
large  the  story  of  their  acquaintance  with  yon, 
with  many  manifestations  of  pride,  and  the 
child  of  to-day  will  be  pointed  out  by  the  next 
generation,  as  the  gray-haired  man  who  in 
childhood  had  talked  with  Gov.  Kirkwood.  The 
History  of  the  Rebellion  cannot  pass  you  by, 
upon  its  pages  you  will  live  through  those 
future  centuries  that  shall  preserve  the  exist 
ence  of  man."604 


NOTES     AND     REFERENCES 


389 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES 

CHAPTER  I 

1  "The  Kirkwood  family  in  America  date  back  to  1731,  when 
Robert  Kirkwood  and  his  widowed  sister-in-law  with  her  two 
children,  a  son  named  Robert,  three  years  old,  and  a  sister  older 
emigrated    from    Londonderry    in    the    north    of    Ireland". — 
Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  p.  7. 

2  There  is  to-day  a  small  town  in  New  Castle  County,  Dela 
ware,  which  bears  the  name  Kirkwood. 

*  This  was  a  son  of  the  Robert  Kirkwood  first  mentioned  in 
Note  1,  above. 

•*  Henry  Lee 's  Memoirs  of  the  War  in  the  Southern  Depart 
ment  of  the  United  States,  p.  96,  footnote. 

5  This  was  the  fatherless,  three-year-old  boy  mentioned  in 
Note  1,  above. 

°  Though  there  was  a  great  difference  in  their  ages  Samuel 
Kirkwood  was  very  fond  of  his  oldest  half-brother,  Robert, 
whom  he  often  called  ' '  the  best  man  God  ever  made ' '. 

Concerning  Coulson  Kirkwood,  whose  full  name  was  William 
Coulson,  scarcely  any  information  has  been  found. 

Samuel's  mother  was  born  in  Scotland,  her  maiden  name 
being  Mary  Alexander. 

John  Kirkwood  was  one  of  those  who  migrated  to  Ohio  in 
1835;  and  he  later  followed  his  younger  brother  to  Iowa.  His 
home  in  Iowa  City  stood  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Summit 
Street  and  Kirkwood  Avenue. 

Wallace  Kirkwood  became  a  druggist  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
He  never  came  west  to  live. 

These  facts  concerning  the  Kirkwood  family  were  secured 
from  Mrs.  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood. 

391 


392  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

7  For  a  description  of  the  house  in  which  Samuel  J.  Kirk- 
wood  was  born  the  writer  is  indebted  to  Mrs.  Kirkwood.  A  cut 
is  printed  in  Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirk- 
U'ood,  opposite  p.  10. 

s  Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
p.  11. 

» Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
p.  12. 

1°  Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
pp.  12,  13;  and  statements  made  to  the  writer  by  Mrs.  Kirk 
wood. 

"  Data  for  the  above  account  of  Kirkwood 's  life  in  Washing 
ton,  D.  C.,  was  secured  in  part  from  Mrs.  Kirkwood,  and  in  part 
from  Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
pp.  13-16. 

12  One  of  Kirkwood 's  poetic  efforts,  dated  Washington  City, 
December  29,  1834,  and  bearing  the  heading  "Written  by 
request  for  the  album  of  a  friend",  begins  with  the  following 
lines: 

"Lines  for  an  album?    let  me  see — 
What  the  deuce  shall  the  subject  be? 
Love?    'tis  hackneyed;  Friendship  too; 
Moonlight  anything  but  new; 
Pangs  that  despairing  lovers  feel 
Though  they  would  rend  a  heart  of  steel 
Are  common ;  common  as  the  darts 
With  which  sly  Cupid  strikes  the  hearts 
Of  blushing  maidens;  as  the  strain 
In  which  fond  lovers  still  complain 
When  they  by  fate  or  rival's  art 
From  those  they  love  are  forced  to  part. 
Now  1  hate  all  things  common;  so 
['11  choose  a  subject  bran  span  new, 
But  what  shall  it  be?     What  will  suit.' 
I  Ml  tell  you  what,  my  o\vn  old  boot." 
Thereupon  he  proceeded  to  praise  the  old  boot  which  "sits  so 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  393 

easy,  like  a  good  old  friend";  and  to  compare  a  new  boot  with 
the  so-called  ' l  friends ' '  who  continually  are  pointing  out  one 's 
faults  — 

' '  Such  friends  as  these  if  I  my  mind  may  tell 
I  wish  were  with  new  boots  all  safe  in . ' ' 

At  other  times  he  wrote  of  the  beauties  and  charms  of  various 
real  or  imaginary  damsels;  though  it  would  be  difficult  to  deter 
mine  from  the  evidence  of  these  glowing  lines  whether  the 
young  man  had  become  enamoured  of  any  particular  young 
lady. —  Autograph  Album  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood. 

CHAPTER  II 

13  Statement  of  Mrs.  Kirkwood.  See  also  Lathrop's  The  Life 
and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  p.  16. 

i*  Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
p.  10. 

is  Mansfield,  Ohio,  the  county  seat  of  Bichland  County,  where 
the  Kirkwoods  settled,  was  estimated  to  be  three  hundred  and 
eighty  miles  from  Washington,  D.  C. —  Jenkins's  The  Ohio 
Gazetteer,  and  Traveler's  Guide  (Columbus,  1837),  p.  505. 

16  For  a   description   of   this   type  of  wagon   see   Hulbert  's 
Historic  Highways  of  America,  Vol.  X,  pp.  129,  130. 

17  See  map  in  H.  S.  Tanner's  The  American  Traveller  (Phila 
delphia,    1836).     Braddock's   Eoad   is   described   in   Hulbert 's 
Historic  Highways  of  America,  Vol.  IV. 

is  Quoted  in  Hulbert 's  Historic  Highways  of  America,  Vol. 
X,  p.  186. 

19  Hulbert 's  Historic  Highways  of  America,  Vol.  X,  p.  174. 
From  this  volume  the  writer  secured  most  of  the  facts  used  in 
the  brief  description  of  the  Cumberland  Eoad,  and  the  busy 
traffic  which  it  carried. 

20  See  Hulbert 's  Historic  Highways  of  America,  Vol.  X,  pp. 
182,  183. 

21  See  maps  in  Hulbert 's  Historic  Highways  of  America,  Vol. 


394  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

X,  pp.  55,  70;  and  in  Tanner's  The  American  Traveller  (Phila 
delphia,  1836).  A  brief  account  of  a  journey  over  the  Cumber 
land  Road  from  Cumberland  to  Brownsville  may  be  found  in 
Peyton's  Over  the  Alleghanies  and  Across  the  Prairies  (Lon 
don,  1869),  Ch.  II. 

22  The  story  of  this  episode  was  related  to  the  writer  by  Mrs. 
Kirkwood.      It  is  also  mentioned   in   Lathrop 's    The   Life  and 
Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirlwood,  p.  17. 

23  See  map  in  Jenkins's  The  Ohio  Gazetteer,  and  Traveler's 
Guide  (Columbus,  1837). 


CHAPTER   II  r 

-4  The  population  of  Richland  County  in  1830  was  24,007, 
and  in  1840  it  was  44,823. —  Howe's  Historical  Collections  of 
Ohio,  Vol.  II,  p.  474. 

-•"•Howe's  Historical  Collections  of  Ohio,  Vol.  II,  p.  474. 

-"Jenkins's  The  Ohio  Gazetteer,  and  Traveler's  Guide  (Co 
lumbus,  1837),  pp.  379,  380. 

27  Jenkins's  The  Ohio  Gazetteer,  and  Traveler's  Guide   (Co 
lumbus,   1837),   p.   379;    and  John   Sherman's  Recollections   of 
Forty  Years,  Vol.  I,  p.  51. 

28  The  writer  is  indebted  to  Mrs.  Kirkwood  for  a  description 
of  the  Kirkwood  home  in  Richland  County. 

2!»  Mrs.  Kirkwood,  who  was  herself  a  teacher  in  Richlaud 
County  for  several  years,  gave  the  writer  a  very  interesting 
account  of  the  schools  of  that  day  and  particularly  of  Mr. 
Kirkwood 's  life  as  a  country  school  teacher. 

•"<"  Autograph  Album  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood.  The  poem  on 
the  Chartist  movement,  dated  Newville.  December  25,  1839,  may 
also  be  found  in  the  Iowa  Historical  Record,  Vol.  VIII,  pp. 
318,  319. 

;tl  Lathrop 's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
pp.  18,  19. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  395 

32  Howe's   Historical   Collections   of   Ohio,   Vol.    II,   p.    477. 
John  Sherman,  however,  was  not  so  favorably  impressed  with 
the  town  on  his  first  visit,  for  he  said  that  ' '  Mansfield  was  then 
a  very  unattractive  village,  badly  located  on  parallel  ridges  and 
valleys ' '. —  John  Sherman 's  Recollections  of  Forty  Years,  Vol. 
I,  p.  47. 

33  See  map  in  Jenkins's  The  Ohio  Gazetteer,  and  Traveler's 
Guide   (Columbus,  1837). 

3-t  Jenkins's  The  Ohio  Gazetteer,  and  Traveler's  Guide  (Co 
lumbus,  1837),  p.  280.  For  a  description  of  the  town  about 
ten  years  later  and  for  cuts  showing  views  of  the  public  square, 
see  Howe's  Historical  Collections  of  Ohio,  Vol.  II,  pp.  477,  479. 

33  Thomas  W.  Bartley  was  the  son  of  Mordecai  Bartley,  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  Richland  County,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
lower  house  of  Congress  from  1823  to  1830,  and  who  in  1844 
was  elected  Governor  of  Ohio  on  the  Whig  ticket. —  See  Howe 's 
Historical  Collections  of  Ohio,  Vol.  II,  p.  489. 

Kirkwood 's  preceptor,  as  will  be  seen  (see  above  pp.  39,  75) 
was  later  Governor  of  Ohio  and  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  that  State.  He  also  served  for  a  time  as  United  States 
District  Attorney  during  the  administration  of  President  Polk. 
His  appearance,  abilities,  and  characteristics  were  described  to 
the  writer  by  Mrs.  Kirkwood. 

so  A  sketch  of  the  life  of  Dr.  E.  W.  Lake  may  be  found  in 
the  Portrait  and  Biographical  Album  of  Linn  County,  Iowa 
(Chicago:  Chapman  Brothers,  1887),  pp.  591,  592. 

37  Barnabas  Burns  was  a  State  Senator  in  Ohio  from  1847  to 
1850.    As  will  be  seen,  it  was  shortly  after  his  retirement  from 
this  office  that  he  and  Kirkwood  formed  a  partnership.     The 
two  men  remained  firm  friends  throughout  their  lives.     Accord 
ing  to  Mrs.  Kirkwood  a  daughter  of  Barnabas  Burns  was  still 
living  in  Mansfield  in  1914. 

38  John  Sherman 's  Recollections  of  Forty  Years,  Vol.  I,  p.  53. 
so  John  Sherman 's  Recollections  of  Forty  Years,  Vol.  I,  p.  52. 

•10  The  facts  concerning  this  journey  were  related  to  the 
writer  by  Mrs.  Kirkwood. 


39(>  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

CHAPTER   IV 

41  Lathrop's    The   Life  and   Times   of   Samuel  J.   Kirkwood, 
p.  21.     Mrs.  Kirkwood  also  gave  the  writer  an  account  of  the 
forming  of  this  partnership. 

42  Mrs.  Kirkwood  furnished  data  concerning  the  early  life  of 
her  parents  in  Ohio.     A  brief  article  on  the  Clark  family  may 
be  found  in  the  Iowa  Historical  Eccord,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  129,  130. 

43  An  account  of  the  first  meeting,  courtship,  and  marriage  of 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  and  Jane  Clark  was  given  to  the  writer  by 
Mrs.  Kirkwood. 


1 1 


Lathrop's    The   Life  and    Times   of   Samuel  J.   Kirkwood, 
pp.  21,  22. 

4~'  Data  furnished  by  Mrs.  Kirkwood. 

4«  Mrs.  Kirkwood  furnished  the  writer  with  the  above  facts 
concerning  the  beginning  of  housekeeping  and  the  reception  of 
the  newly  married  couple  into  the  social  life  of  Mansfield. 

47  The   Ohio   Constitution   of    1802,   which   was    in   operation 
until  1851,  made  no  provision  for  a  Lieutenant  Governor,  and 
in  case  of  death,  impeachment,  resignation  or  other  disability, 
the  duties  of  the  office  of  Governor  were  to  be  performed  by  the 
Speaker  of  the  Senate. 

Thomas  W.  Bartley,  who  was  a  Democrat,  served  as  Governor 
during  the  year  1844,  and  then  was  succeeded  by  his  father, 
Mordecai  Bartley,  who  was  elected  to  the  office  on  the  Whig 
ticket. 

48  This  episode  is  described  by  Peter  A.  Dey  in  the  Annals  of 
Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  VII,  p.  85;  and  it  is  corroborated  by 
a   similar  account   in   John   Sherman's   Recollections   of   Fortt/ 
Years,  Vol.  I,  p.  91. 

49  From  Mrs.  Kirkwood  the  writer  gained  a  very  clear  idea 
of  this  unfortunate  episode  and  of  the  character  of  the  persons 
involved,  besides  a  number  of  valuable   letters,  affidavits,  and 
other  papers  relating  to  the  case. 

•"•"  Kbenezer   Lane    was   a   Justice   of   the   Supreme    Court    of 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  397 

Ohio  from  1830  to  1845.  Brief  sketches  of  his  life  may  be 
found  in  Howe's  Historical  Collections  of  Ohio,  Vol.  I,  p.  577; 
and  the  Ohio  Archaeological  and  Historical  Quarterly,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  251,  252. 

51  It  is   interesting  to   note   that   each   of  the  three   men  — 
Thomas  Ewing,  Columbus  Delano,  and  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  — 
later  served  as  Secretary  of  the   Interior,  the  first  being  ap 
pointed  by  President  Taylor,  the  second  by  Grant,  and  the  third 
by  Garfield. 

52  A  brief  account  of  the  trial  is  to  be  found  in  Lathrop  's 
The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  p.  23.     The  facts 
were  also  related  to  the  writer  by  Mrs.  Kirkwood. 

A  number  of  letters  written  to  Kirkwood  after  the  trial  by 
Frank  Barker's  father,  as  well  as  by  his  young  wife,  furnish 
ample  evidence  of  the  desire  of  the  Barker  family  that  Bow- 
land's  sentence  might  be  changed  to  life  imprisonment.  Mrs. 
Kirkwood  stated  that  Bowland  was  later  pardoned  by  the 
Governor. 

53  Letter  from  Ebenezer  Lane  to  Kirkwood,  dated  December 
7,  1846,  in  the  possession  of  The  State  Historical  Society  of 
Iowa. 

54  Letter   from   Margaretta   A.   Barker   to   Kirkwood,   dated 
December  15,  1846,  in  the  possession  of  The  State  Historical 
Society  of  Iowa. 

CHAPTER  V 

55  <  <  My  old  friend,  Mr.  Kirkwood,  was  the  prosecuting  attor 
ney  of  the  county,  and  I  renewed  with  him  my  'moot  court' 
experience  in  frequent  contests  between  real  parties." — John 
Sherman's  Recollections  of  Forty  Tears,  Vol.  I,  p.  83. 

so  The  Ohio  Constitution  of  1802  may  be  found  in  Poore's 
Charters  and  Constitutions,  Part  II,  pp.  1455-1464. 

57  See  Morris's  Internal  Improvements  in  Ohio,  1825-1850,  in 
the  Papers  of  the  American  Historical  Association,  Vol.  Ill, 
No.  2,  pp.  107-136. 


398  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

r>8  It  has  not  been  possible  to  arrive  at  a  clear  idea  of  all  the 
reasons  which  brought  about  the  revision  of  the  Constitution  of 
Ohio  in  1850.  Apparently  the  Convention  of  that  year  has  not 
yet  appealed  strongly  to  any  historical  writer.  The  reasons 
stated  by  the  present  writer  are  clearly  reflected  in  the  debates 
in  the  Convention,  reported  by  ,J.  V.  Smith  and  published  in 
two  volumes.  See  also  Lathrop  's  The  Life  and  Times  of 
tiamuel  J.  Kirk  wood,  p.  25. 

no  The  text  of  this  act  is  to  be  found  in  Smith's  Debates  of 
the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  I,  pp.  17,  18. 

«o  For  a  description  of  this  building  see  Studer's  Columbus, 
Ohio:  It*  History,  Resources,  and  Progress  (1873),  pp.  321-323. 

(il  The  above  data  relative  to  the  public  services  of  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Convention  was  compiled  from  the  "blue  book" 
known  as  The  Biographical  Annals  of  Ohio,  1906-1908. 

62  The  data  relative  to  the  ages  and  occupations  of  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Convention  was  compiled   from  a   table  in  Smith's 
Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  I,  pp.  3-6. 

63  Smith's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  I,  p.  18. 

64  Smith's   Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.   I,   pp.   64, 
66,  67,  95,  96,  128. 

(ir>  Smith's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  T,  pp.  207- 
209. 

««  Smith's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  I,  p.  254. 
Biennial  legislative  sessions  were  provided  for  in  the  Constitu 
tion  as  finally  adopted. 

•••"Smith's  Delxites  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  F,  pp.  234, 
235,  236,  263,  282,  293,  302,  305,  306,  310.  Tt  would  be  difficult 
to  determine  whether  these  suggestions  and  amendments  had 
any  influence  in  the  Convention.  None  of  them  were  adopted 
at  the  time,  but  some  of  the  same  ideas,  expressed  perhaps  in  a 
somewhat  different  form,  were  embodied  in  the  Constitution. 

i:s  Smith's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  T,  pp.  399- 
404. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  399 

69  Smith's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  I,  pp.  444, 
445,  447,  461-463,  467-469.    Jury  trial  in  a  "court  of  record" 
for  the  assessment   of  damages  in  case  of  the  granting  of  a 
right  of  way  to  a  corporation  was  guaranteed  in  the  Constitu 
tion  as  adopted. —  Article  XIII,  Section  5. 

On  the  question  of  exemptions  from  military  duty,  Mr. 
Kirkwood  asked  ' '  why  not  make  a  general  provision  applicable 
to  all  laws,  that  they  shall  be  obligatory  only  on  those  who 
conscientiously  believe  them  to  be  right,  and  that  those  who 
conscientiously  believe  any  law  to  be  wrong,  may  disregard  it. ' ' 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  provision  for  exemptions  was  embodied 
in  the  article  dealing  with  the  militia  as  finally  adopted. 

70  Smith's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  I,  pp.  459, 
461,  475,  495. 

71  Mr.  Kirkwood  favored  a  plan  which  had  been  proposed  by 
which   the   State    debt   would   be  extinguished   in   forty   years. 
"The  amount  to  be  raised  each  year",  he  said,  "is  one  hunderd 
thousand    dollars,    which    divided    among    400,000    tax-payers, 
makes  the  sum  of  twenty-five  cents  to  each  man  —  equal  per 
haps  to  two  sherry  cobblers  each  year  for  forty  years.     And 
this  will  release  us  from  the  burthen  of  our  State  debt. ' ' 

11 1  do  not  want  the  public  debt  of  the  State  to  remain ' ', 
said  Mr.  Kirkwood  a  little  later,  "  as  a  basis  for  banking  oper 
ations,  of  any  kind,  whether  of  the  State,  free,  or  independent 
varieties;  nor  that  it  shall  furnish  the  instruments  for  men  to 
gamble  with,  at  home  or  abroad.  And  I  hold  the  duty  of 
States  as  of  individuals,  to  be  out  of  debt,  and  to  remember 
and  abide  by  the  injunction,  'owe  no  one  any  thing.'  ' 
Smith's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  I,  pp.  482,  490, 
491. 

The  plan  for  a  sinking  fund  which  Kirkwood  favored  was 
embodied  in  the  Constitution. —  Article  VIII,  Section  7. 

'-Smith's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  I,  pp.  592, 
593,  598,  602,  615,  622,  624,  629,  649-651,  673,  675. 

73  Mrs.  Kirkwood  told  the  writer  of  her  visit  to  Columbus 
while  her  husband  was  there  in  attendance  at  the  Convention 
and  of  the  social  life  of  the  members. 


400  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

74  See  Studer's  Columbus,  Ohio:  Its  History,  Resources,  and 
Progress  (1873),  pp.  48,  49. 

"•"Smith's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  I,  pp.  729, 
730. 

Certain  members  opposed  adjournment,  some  for  partisan 
reasons,  others  because  they  feared  it  would  prejudice  the 
people  against  the  Convention  and  the  Constitution,  and  still 
others  because  it  had  been  hoped  that  the  Constitution  could  be 
submitted  to  the  people  at  the  elections  in  October.  Kirkwood 
could  see  no  reason  for  making  adjournment  a  party  question. 
Furthermore,  said  he,  "I  have  been  told  of  enough  of  members 
who  intend  leaving,  adjournment  or  no  adjournment,  to  leave  us 
without  a  quorum,  and  should  that  be  the  result,  we  will  then 
be  left  here  without  the  power  to  do  business,  and  without  the 
power  even  of  adjourning.  Other  gentlemen  know  these  things 
as  well  as  I  do;  and  although  I  regret  that  these  things  are  so, 
I  cannot  help  it,  and  cannot  see  any  use  of  remaining  longer. 
We  cannot  submit  the  new  constitution  to  a  vote  of  the  people 
this  fall,  and  that  being  considered,  there  is  not  a  necessity,  or 
any  good  reason,  why  gentlemen  should  remain  here,  certainly 
at  the  risk  of  health,  perhaps  at  the  risk  of  life,  to  finish  the 
work  now,  when  by  adjourning  until  fall,  we  can  meet  again  in 
a  healthy  season  and  lay  our  work  before  the  people  at  the 
spring  elections." 


CHAPTER  VI 

~'!  Letter  from  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  to  Mrs.  Kirkwood,  dated 
December  4,  1850,  in  the  possession  of  The  State  Historical 
Society  of  Iowa. 

By  taking  a  round-about  route  to  Sandusky  and  thence  south 
again,  Kirkwood  could,  in  1850,  have  made  the  journey  to  Cin 
cinnati  entirely  by  rail.  Possibly  he  did  travel  in  this  manner 
from  Columbus  to  his  destination. —  See  Paxson's  The  Railroads 
of  the  "Old  Northwest  Before  the  Civil  War,"  in  the  Trans 
actions  of  the  Wisconsin  Academy  of  Sciences,  Arts,  and  Lct- 
tcrs,  Vol.  XVIF,  Part  I,  p.  253. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  401 

"7  Kirkwood's  experiences  during  the  first  days  in  Cincinnati 
are  described  in  a  lengthy  letter  written  to  Mrs.  Kirkwood  on 
December  4,  1850,  in  the  possession  of  The  State  Historical 
Society  of  Iowa. 

78  See  Smith's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  II,  p.  3; 
and  King's  Pocket-book  of  Cincinnati  (1879),  p.  23. 

79  Smith's  Delates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  II,  pp.  36, 
37,  51,  52,  53,  55,  125. 

so  Smith 's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  II,  pp.  82,  83. 

si  For  Kirkwood 's  remarks  on  the  subject  of  corporations  see 
Smith's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  II,  pp.  167,  186, 
187,  190,  191,  548,  549,  615-617,  624,  627,  630.  The  Constitu 
tion  as  adopted  provided  that  corporations  might  be  formed 
under  general  laws,  but  that  all  such  laws  might  at  any  time 
be  altered  or  repealed.  Special  acts  conferring  corporate  pow 
ers  were  forbidden. —  Article  XIII,  Sections  1,  2. 

82  Smith 's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  II,  pp.  320, 
681.  Mr.  Kirkwood  said  that  the  only  complaints  concerning 
the  system  of  legal  procedure  which  he  had  heard  came  from 
"those  men  who  are  constantly  prowling  about  our  justices' 
courts;  fomenting  quarrels  and  disputes  amongst  their  neigh 
bors,  and  encouraging  litigation." 

The  provision  for  commissioners  to  which  Kirkwood  objected 
wras  nevertheless  placed  in  the  Constitution. —  Article  XIV. 

ss  Smith 's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  II,  pp.  328, 
329. 

s^  Smith 's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  II,  p.  341. 

ss  Smith 's  Debates  of  the  Ohio  Convention,  Vol.  II,  pp.  419- 
422.  See  also  pp.  789,  792,  801,  830,  831. 

86  The  Constitution  of  1802  covers  ten  pages  in  Poore  's 
Charters  and  Constitutions,  while  the  Constitution  of  1851  cov 
ers  nearly  seventeen  pages. 


27 


402  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

CHAPTER  VII 

87  Mrs.  Kirkwood  related  to  the  writer  the  facts  concerning 
this  change  of  partners,  which  was  not  only  agreeable  to  her 
husband,  but  was  very  much  desired  by  him.  In  fact,  it  ap 
pears  that  Kirkwood  had  a  large  part  in  securing  Hartley's 
nomination  as  Justice.  See  also  Lathrop 's  The  Life  and  Times 
of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  p.  24. 

ss  Quotation  from  the  Mansfield  Herald  in  the  Iowa  Weekly 
Republican  (Iowa  City),  August  24,  1859. 

89  Quotation  from  the  Mansfield  Herald  in  the  Iowa  Weekly 
Republican   (Iowa  City),  August  24,  1859. 

Although  Kirkwrood  had  thus  far  been  a  staunch  Democrat, 
like  his  father  he  had  always  been  opposed  to  slavery,  and  this 
opposition  was  no  doubt  increased  by  his  residence  among  the 
freedom-loving  people  of  northern  Ohio.  Hence  it  was  no 
sudden  conversion  which  caused  him  to  leave  the  old  party. 

90  Quotation  from  the  Mansfield  Herald  in  the  Iowa  Weekly 
Republican  (Iowa  City),  August  24,  1859.     The  writer  has  not 
been    able    to    find    the    articles    here    mentioned,    which    were 
printed  in  a  newspaper  known  as  the  Shield  and  Banner. 

91  Iowa  Weekly  Republican   (Iowa  City),  July  27,  1859. 

92  The  sentiment  in  this  congressional  district  was  evidently 
strongly  opposed  to  Douglas's  measure,  for  William  D.  Linds- 
ley,    the    Representative    from    that    district,    was    one    of    the 
Democrats   who   voted   against   the   bill  in  the  lower  house   of 
Congress. 

In  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  IX,  p.  208,  it  is 
stated  that  in  1855  Mr.  Kirkwood  "was  a  prominent  candidate 
for  Congress".  The  present  writer,  however,  has  not  been  able 
to  find  anything  to  support  this  statement.  In  fact,  there  was 
apparently  no  Congressman  elected  in  that  district  in  1855. 
In  the  preceding  autumn  John  Sherman  was  successful  in  his 
campaign  for  the  position  of  Representative  against  William 
D.  Lindsley;  and  in  that  campaign  Kirkwood  took  the  stump 
in  support  of  Lindsley  because  he  had  voted  against  the  Kansas- 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  403 

Nebraska  bill. —  See  John  Sherman's  Eecollections,  Vol.  I,  pp. 
103-105;  and  a  quotation  from  the  Mansfield  Herald  in  the 
Iowa  Weekly  EepuUican  (Iowa  City),  August  24,  1859. 

93  For  an  account  of  this  visit  to  Iowa  City  the  writer  is 
indebted  to  Mrs.  Kirkwood. 

94  Mrs.   Kirkwood  informed   the  writer  that   the  house  was 
exchanged  for  a  stock  of  merchandise  which,  she  believed,  was 
later  used  in  the  store  in  Iowa  City. 

95Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  KirTcwood, 
p.  25. 

96  Quotation   from   the    Chicago   Journal   in    The   Gate   City 
(Keokuk),  May  11,  1855.     A  glance  at  any  of  the  newspapers 
published  in  the  Iowa  towns  along  the  Mississippi  will  reveal 
the  unprecedented  rush  of  settlers  to  this  State  throughout  the 
year  1855.     See  also  Parker's  Iowa  as  it  is  in  1856,  pp.  63-65. 

97  The    great    emigration    of    the    years    1854-1856    (during 
which   time   the    population   was    increased   nearly   200,000    or 
fifty-nine  per  cent)    came  almost   entirely   from  the  northern 
States.     A  large  part  of  the  voters  who  came  in  during  that 
period  and  the  four  years  that  followed  became  members  of  the 
new  Eepublican  party,  and  thus  helped  to  overthrow  the  Demo 
cratic  party  which  had  been  in  power  in  Iowa  from  the  begin 
ning  of  Territorial  days. 

98  For  an  account  of  the  journey  to  Iowa  the  writer  is  in 
debted  to  Mrs.  Kirkwood. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

99  The  population  of  Iowa  City  in  1854  was  2570 ;  in  1860  it 
was  5214;  but  it  was  estimated  at  about  4000  in  1855. —  See 
Hull's  Historical  and  Comparative  Census  of  Iowa,  p.  515;  and 
Parker's  Iowa  as  it  is  in  1855,  p.  146. 

The  first  train  on  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  River  Railroad 
(now  the  Rock  Island  line)  arrived  at  Iowa  City  on  January  3, 
1856. —  Shambaugh's  Iowa  City:  A  Contribution  to  the  Early 
History  of  Iowa,  p.  106. 


404  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

100  Annals  of  Iowa  (First  Series),  Vol.  XI,  p.  609. 

JOT  For  the  history  of  tins  mill  see  Aurner's  Leading  Events 
in  Johnson  County  History  (Cedar  Kapids,  1912),  Vol.  I,  pp. 
412-419;  and  History  of  Johnson  County,  Iowa  (Iowa  City, 
1883),  pp.  729,  730. 

!t>2  it  has  not  been  possible  to  determine  just  when  this  store 
was  opened,  but  it  is  evident  that  it  was  being  conducted  as 
early  as  February,  1856.  The  store  building  was  on  Washing 
ton  Street  near  where  the  Burkley  Imperial  Hotel  now  stands. 

1()3  The  house  in  Coralville  in  which  the  Kirk  woods  took  up 
their  abode  and  in  which  they  lived  for  ten  years,  was  later 
burned  to  the  ground,  presumably  through  the  carelessness  of 
some  tramps. 

Ezekiel  Clark 's  first  wife,  it  appears,  had  embraced  the 
Mormon  faith  not  long  before  this  time  and  had  departed  for 
Utah,  leaving  to  Mr.  Clark  the  care  of  three  small  children. 

104  Lathrop 's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
p.  39;  and  the  Annals  of  loica  (First  Series),  Vol.  XI,  p.  609. 

100  The  statement  (no  doubt  exaggerated)  was  made  in  1855 
that  the  mills  cleared  their  owners  "at  least  $10,000  per 
annum." — Parker's  Iowa  as  it  is  in  1855,  p.  145. 

ioc  History  of  Johnson  County,  Iowa  (Iowa  City,  1883),  p. 
730;  and  Lathrop 's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Eirk- 
u-ood,  pp.  38,  39. 

107  This  information  concerning  the  farm  was  furnished  to 
the  writer  by  Mrs.  Kirkwood. 

IDS  For  a  time  at  least  Mr.  Kirkwood  took  charge  of  the  mill 
and  farm;  while  Ezekiel  Clark  managed  the  store  and  ware 
house  in  town. 

ion  Statements  by  Mrs.  Kirkwood  to  the  writer. 

no/ofi-a  Historical  Record,  Vol.  XVIIT,  p.  593;  and  Lath 
rop  7s  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  pp.  39,  40. 
These  two  versions  of  the  anecdote  vary  slightly  in  detail,  but 
they  arc  essentially  the  same.  John  F.  Duncombe  of  Fort 
Dodge  later  became  a  prominent  figure  in  Iowa  history. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  405 

in  From  Mrs.  Kirkwood  the  writer  gained  the  foregoing 
information  concerning  the  earliest  acquaintances  and  friends 
of  the  Kirkwoods  in  Iowa. 

112  Printed  in  The  Iowa  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  September  14, 
1859,  during  Xirkwood's  campaign  for  Governor. 

11 3  Quoted  in  Pelzer's  The  Origin  and  Organization  of  the 
Republican  Party  in  Iowa,  in  The  Iowa  Journal  of  History  and 
Politics,  Vol.    IV,   p.   500.     In   this   article  will  be   found   an 
excellent  account  of  the  movement  leading  up  to  the  convention 
of  February  22,  1856,  and  of  the  convention  itself. 

n4  See  The  Daily  Gate  City  (Keokuk),  February  29,  1856. 

nsLathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
p.  46.  Mrs.  Kirkwood  also  corroborated  the  statements  made 
above  concerning  Mr.  Kirkwood 's  part  in  the  convention. 

no  Unfortunately  there  are  no  very  satisfactory  accounts  of 
this  convention,  beyond  the  mere  minutes  of  the  proceedings,  to 
be  found.  One  of  the  best  contemporary  descriptions  was  one 
written  by  the  editor  of  the  Davenport  Gazette,  who  was  a 
delegate  to  the  convention.  The  quotation  used  above  is  taken 
from  this  description  as  reprinted  in  The  Daily  Gate  City 
(Keokuk),  February  29,  1856. 

n7Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
p.  46.  This  story  has  been  told  so  many  times  that  it  might 
almost  be  called  an  Iowa  folk-tale. 

us  Eeminiscence  of  Mr.  A.  B.  Cree  printed  in  Aurner's 
Leading  Events  in  Johnson  County  History,  Vol.  I,  pp.  623,  624. 

ii°Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  KirTcwood, 
p.  46. 

The  address  prepared  by  this  committee  is  a  detailed  state 
ment  of  the  principles  of  the  new  party,  covering  four  or  five 
columns  in  a  newspaper.  It  is  printed  in  full  in  The  Daily 
Gate  City  (Keokuk),  March  24-26,  1856. 


406  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

CHAPTER  IX 

120  Jowa  City  Eepublican  (Daily),  June  25,  26,  28,  30,  July  1, 
1856. 

On  July  1st  the  editor  commented  as  follows  on  Kirkwood 's 
nomination: 

''This  is  a  fortunate  nomination.  Mr.  K's  experience  in 
public  life,  his  fine  business  habits  and  gentlemanly  deport 
ment,  will  give  him  an  influence  in  the  Senate  enjoyed  by  few 
others  in  that  body.  He  consents,  reluctantly  —  as  we  have 
good  reason  to  know  —  to  the  use  of  his  name  as  a  candidate. 
The  office  is  not  one  of  his  seeking.  He  is  obliged  to  make 
great  sacrifices,  by  neglecting  private  business,  in  order  to 
comply  with  the  wish  so  strongly  expressed  by  the  Convention." 

i2iByers's  Iowa  in  War  Times,  p.  29;  Lathrop's  The  Life 
and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  p.  47. 

Kirkwood  's  fame  in  his  new  home  apparently  reached  the 
ears  of  his  old  friends  in  Ohio,  for  late  in  August  he  received 
a  letter  from  M.  Day  of  Mansfield  asking  him  to  come  and 
make  a  speech  at  that  place  on  September  2nd,  in  behalf  of  the 
Republican  party. —  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  27,  His 
torical  Department,  Des  Moines.  This  is  a  large  collection  of 
letters  written  to  Kirkwood,  covering  in  general  the  period 
from  1850  to  1890. 

122  in  fact  the  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1856-1857,  records 
only  about  fifty  instances  during  the  entire  session  in  which 
Kirkwood  took  any  part  in  the  proceedings,  aside  from  casting 
his  vote  on  the  various  propositions  before  the  Senate.  For 
instance,  he  introduced  only  five  bills  (pp.  25,  258,  277,  354, 
415)  and  six  resolutions  (pp.  27,  110,  121,  125,  139,  207)  ; 
while  on  only  ten  occasions  (pp.  131,  160,  316,  334,  396,  408, 
413,  434,  450,  490)  did  he  offer  amendments  to  bills  proposed 
by  others.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  neither 
the  legislative  journals  nor  the  newspapers  of  that  day  give 
any  good  idea  as  to  tEe  debates  in  the  legislature,  and  hence  it 
is  difficult  to  obtain  a  true  evaluation  of  the  part  taken  by  any 
particular  member. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  407 

123  Proceedings  of   the  Pioneer  Lawmakers '  Association   of 
Iowa,  1902,  p.  25. 

124  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1856-1857,  pp.  20,  21,  34,  169,  177, 
206,  277,  354. 

125  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1856-1857,  pp.  127-132. 

126  Quoted  in  Lathrop  's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood,  pp.  49,  50.     Mr.  Lathrop  was,  at  the  time  of  this 
episode,  a  correspondent  for  a  Chicago  newspaper. 

127  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1856-1857,  p.  160.     See  also  Lath 
rop 's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  pp.  50,  51. 

128  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1856-1857,  pp.  27,  121,  207,  40'8. 

129  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1856-1857,  pp.  107,  108. 

130  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1856-1857,  p.  438.     Mr.  Lathrop 
gives   Kirkwood   credit  for  securing  the   initial   appropriation 
also. —  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  p.  54. 

isi  Laws  of  Iowa,  1856-1857,  p.  466. 

Mr.  Kirkwood  served  only  a  little  more  than  a  year  as  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  for  by  the  Constitution  of 
1857  and  the  legislation  of  1858  there  was  created  and  organ 
ized  a  State  Board  of  Education  which  had  control  of  all  the 
educational  interests  of  the  State,  and  a  new  Board  of  Trustees 
was  created  by  that  authority.  See  Aurner's  History  of  Edu 
cation  in  Iowa,  Vol.  I,  Chs.  Ill,  IV. 

CHAPTER  X 

132  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  January  27,  1857. 

133  At  least  three  elections,  in  April,  August,  and  October, 
were   held    that    year.      See    The   Iowa    Weekly    Citizen    (Des 
Moines),  August  5,   September  2,   16,   1857. 

134  This  letter  is  printed  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa   (Third  Se 
ries),  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  508,  509. 

135  Letter  from  Grimes,  March  24,  1857,  and  another  of  about 
the  same  time  but  without  date,  in  Kirkwood  Correspondence, 
No.  30. 


408  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

i3o  The  incidents  of  this  tour  are  described  in  Lathrop's  The 
Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  pp.  57-61;  and  the 
proceedings  of  the  Pioneer  Lawmakers'  Association  of  Iowa, 
J892,  p.  42. 

i;:~  In  the  itinerary  as  announced  in  the  newspapers  Kirk- 
wood,  Henry  O'Connor,  and  "other  distinguished  Republicans" 
were  scheduled  to  meet  Samuels  at  Newton,  Montezuma,  Oska- 
loosa,  Sigourney,  Washington,  Mt.  Pleasant,  Wapello,  Iowa 
City,  Marengo,  Toledo,  Vinton,  Marion,  Anamosa,  Tipton,  and 
Davenport,  between  September  17th  and  October  6th. —  Musca- 
tinc  Daily  Journal,  September  11,  1857.  It  is  probable  that 
Kirkwood  filled  only  his  share  of  these  appointments. 

i:;s  Letter  of  James  W.  Grimes  to  Kirkwood,  December  4, 
1857. —  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  38,  Historical  Depart 
ment,  Des  Moines.  A  similar  statement  is  to  be  found  in  a 
letter  written  a  month  earlier,  on  November  5th. 

Kirkwood  apparently  did  not  oppose  the  candidacy  of  his 
neighbor,  William  Penn  Clarke,  but  when  it  became  apparent, 
in  the  Republican  legislative  caucus  in  January,  1858,  that 
Clarke  had  absolutely  no  chance,  Kirkwood  was  left  free  to 
throw  his  whole-hearted  support  to  James  W.  Grimes. —  See 
Lathrop's  Tlic  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  p.  61. 

For  a  discussion  of  this  senatorial  campaign  see  Clark's 
History  of  Senatorial  Elections  in  Iowa,  Ch.  V. 

130  Letter  from  James  W.  Grimes  to  Kirkwood,  November  5, 
1857. —  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  36. 

140  Proceedings    of   the   Pioneer   Lawmakers'   Association    of 
Iowa,    1898,   p.    88;    The   Iowa    Weekly   Citizen    (Des    Moines), 
April   7,   1858. 

141  This   description    of   Des   Moines  at   the   time   of  the   con 
vening  of  the  Seventh  General   Assembly  is  taken  largely  from 
the   following  reminiscences  of  men  who  were  members  of  that 
Assembly:    Cue's    The    Seventh   General   Assembly    in    the    pro 
ceedings  of  the  Pioneer  Lawmakers'  Association  of  Iowa,  189S, 
pp.  '86-98;  Carpenter's  ]!<'minit«-cn<-<'s  of  the  Winter  of  1S5S  in 
Des    Moines    in    the    proceedings    of    the    Pioneer    Lawmakers' 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  409 

Association   of   Iowa,    1892,    pp.    53-65;    Grinnell's    Men    and 
Events  of  Forty  Years,  pp.  122,  123. 

The  isolation  of  Des  Moines  at  this  time  is  emphasized  by 
the  fact  that  it  was  not  until  late  in  1857  that  its  citizens  were 
furnished  with  a  daily  mail  service. —  The  Iowa  Weekly  Citizen 
(Des  Moines),  December  30,  1857. 

142  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1858,  pp.  36,  61,  68,  94,  149,  196, 
222,  259,  266,  278,  455,  554.     Senator  Kirkwood  took  part  in 
the    proceedings    of    this    session    much    more    frequently    than 
during  the  preceding  session. 

143  These  bills  were  Senate  Files  Nos.  49,  95,  and  111.    Their 
course   through   the   Senate   may  be   traced  by   consulting   the 
index  to  the  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1858.     See  also  Laws  of 
Iowa,  1858,  pp.  46,  48,  214. 

144  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1858,  pp.  Ill,  320,  604,  605. 

145  For  amendments  proposed  by  Kirkwood,  see  Journal  of 
the  Senate,  1858,  pp.  177,  186,  263,  264,  270,  296,  300,  302,  303, 
304,  318,  334,  356,  362,  364-367,  370,  371,  377,  378,  411,  447, 
475,  531,  586,  594,  605. 

146  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1858,  pp.  334,  356,  362,  364-367, 
371,  377,  378;  and  Laws  of  Iowa,  1858,  pp.  125-152. 

147  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1858,  pp.  296,  318;  and  Laws  of 
Iowa,  1858,  pp.  57-88. 

i^s  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1858,  p.  454;  and  Laws  of  Iowa, 
1858,  p.  431.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  other  memorial,  as 
referred  to,  was  passed  at  that  session  of  the  General  Assembly, 
but  a  memorial  of  the  previous  session  may  have  been  the  one 
in  mind. 

149  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1858,  pp.  308-310;  and  Laws  of 
Iowa,  1858,  pp.  432-434. 

150  Proceedings   of   the   Pioneer  Lawmakers'   Association    of 
Iowa,  1892,  pp.  54,  55. 

151  Proceedings   of   the   Pioneer  Law-makers'   Association   of 
Iowa,  1892,  p.  55,  1898,  p.  96;  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1858,  pp. 


410  SAMUEL  J.  KIRK  WOOD 

463,  503,  504;  The  Tri-weekly  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  March  18, 
1858;  Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
pp.  66,  67. 

i-r-2  Proceedings   of   the   Pioneer   Lawmakers'   Association   of 
Iowa,  1898,  p.  91. 

ir>3  Proceedings   of   the   Pioneer   Lawmakers'   Association   of 
lawa,  1907,  pp.  13,  14. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  April  7,  August  11, 


1858. 


its  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  I,  p.  267;  and 
Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  p.  62. 

ir>6  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  V,  p.  99;  and  Consti 
tution  of  Iowa,  1857,  Article  VIII. 

157  The  lengthy  act  establishing  the  State  Bank  of  Iowa, 
which  embodied  many  of  the  features  of  similar  laws  in  Ohio 
and  Indiana,  may  be  found  in  the  Laws  of  Iowa,  1858,  pp.  125- 
152.  The  best  accounts  of  the  history  of  the  State  Bank  are 
those  by  Hiram  Price  and  Hoyt  Sherman  printed,  respectively, 
in  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  I,  pp.  266-293,  and 
in  Vol.  V,  of  the  same  publication,  pp.  93-116.  Both  Mr. 
Price  and  Mr.  Sherman  were  members  of  the  Board  of  Direc 
tors  of  the  State  Bank  of  Iowa,  and  they  were  prominently 
connected  with  the  branch  banks  at  Davenport  and  Des  Moines, 
respectively.  In  the  article  by  Mr.  Sherman  are  excellent  fac 
similes  of  the  notes  issued  by  the  State  Bank. 

The  Commissioners  selected  to  put  the  banking  plan  into 
operation  were  C.  H.  Booth,  E.  II.  Harrison,  Ezekiel  Clark, 
John  W.  Button,  William  J.  Catling,  Christian  W.  Slagle, 
Elihu  Baker,  William  S.  Dart,  L.  W.  Babbitt,  and  Edward  T. 
Kdginton.  At  the  first  meeting,  held  on  July  28,  1858,  Ezekiel 
Clark  was  chosen  president  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners. 
On  October  9th  the  board  held  its  last  meeting  and  control  was 
transferred  to  the  Board  of  Directors.  The  original  record 


NOTES  AND  EEFERENCES  411 

book  containing  the  minutes  of  the  meetings  of  the  Commis 
sioners  and  of  the  Directors  of  the  State  Bank  of  Iowa  is  in 
the  possession  of  The  State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa.  The 
minutes  of  the  Commissioners  cover  the  first  twenty-one  pages. 

iss/ott'a  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  August  11,  1858. 
In  the  same  paper  appeared  a  similar  notice  signed  by  a  differ 
ent  group  of  persons,  but  apparently  their  efforts  did  not  meet 
with  success. 

159  Iowa  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  September  22, 
1858.  The  list  of  the  original  stockholders  of  the  Iowa  City 
Branch  is  given  in  this  same  paper,  together  with  the  amount 
of  stock  purchased  by  each  person. 

leo  gee  original  record  book  containing  the  minutes  of  the 
meetings  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  in  the  possession  of  The 
State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa,  pp.  22-85;  and  Iowa  Weekly 
Republican  (Iowa  City),  November  3,  1858.  Mr.  Kirkwood 
resigned  on  August  10,  1859.  He  again  became  a  member  of 
the  board  on  August  10,  1864  (minutes,  p.  275),  and  hence  had 
a  part  not  only  in  organizing  the  State  Bank  of  Iowa,  but  also 
in  closing  up  its  affairs. 

i<u  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  I,  p.  292.  The  last 
regular  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  was  held  on  August 
16,  1865,  and  the  State  Bank  of  Iowa  gave  way  to  the  National 
Banks  established  according  to  the  Federal  law  of  1863. 

1*2  Iowa  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  August  18,  1858. 
163  Iowa  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  October  20,  1858. 

i<54  lowa   Weekly   Republican    (Iowa   City),   December    1,    8, 

1858. 

ion  Iowa  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  June  15,  22,  1859; 
and  The  Iowa  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  June  22,  1859. 

leo/ou-a  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  December  15,  1858, 
March  16,  1859. 

is?  From  statements  made  by  Mrs.  Kirkwood  to  the  writer. 


412  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

CHAPTER  XII 

i<">s  Throughout  the  campaign,  both  before  and  after  the  nom 
ination,  Kirkwood  received  frequent  letters  from  Grimes  offer 
ing  advice  and  encouragement. 

i«9  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  51. 

170  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  53. 

i  "i  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  57. 

172  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  65,  67. 

173/oit-a  Weekly  Republican   (Iowa  City),  May  25,  1859. 

n*  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  IV,  pp.  547,  548; 
and  letter  from  John  A.  Kasson  to  Kirkwood,  May  17,  1859,  in 
Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  81. 

175  The  Iowa  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  June  29,  1859;  and  lou-a 
Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  June  29,  1859. 

i7c  Letter  from  James  W.  Grimes,  June  23,  1859.  —  Kirk- 
wood  Correspondence,  No.  114. 

177  The  Iowa  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  June  29,  1859. 

178  See  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  IX,  p.  208. 

179  For    the    career    of    Kirkwood  's    opponent    see    Pelzer's 
Augustus  Caesar  Dodge. 

iso  Quoted  from  the  Oskaloosa  Herald  in  the  Iowa  State 
Journal  (Des  Moines),  July  9,  1859. 

isi  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  116. 

IS-  Letter  from  James  Harlan,  July  4,  185!).  —  Kirkwood  Cor- 
rt  xi>ondcnce,  No.  130. 


-a  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  July  6,  1859. 
's  »  The  Iowa  Citizen   (Des  Moines),  July  13,  20,  1859. 
is-"'  The  Iowa  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  July  13,  1S59. 

i8«  Quoted  from  the  Davenport  Democrat  in  the  Iowa  Weekly 
I!<  j>iil  licd/i  (Iowa  City),  July  20,  1859.  The  writer  continued 
by  stating  that  Kirkwood  "deceives  himself  greatly,  if  he  sup- 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  413 

poses  that  he  will  make  any  votes  in  the  civilized  part  of  Iowa, 
by  dressing  like  a  scare-crow,  or  smelling  like  a  cod-fish. ' ' 

is?  Iowa  Weekly  Eepublican  (Iowa  City),  July  13,  1859. 
iss  The  Iowa  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  August  10,  1859. 

iso  The  Iowa  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  July  20,  1859;  Muscatine 
Daily  Journal,  July  13,  1859. 

loo  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  July  26,  1859.  For  lists  of 
Kirkwood's  speaking  appointments  see  The  Iowa  Citizen  (Des 
Moines),  July  27,  August  3,  1859. 

wi  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  VIII,  p.  201. 

192  For  instance,  see  the  Muscatine  Daily  Journal,  July  26, 
1859,  and  succeeding  numbers. 

"Wise  in  council  and  blest  with  fine  executive  capacities,  as 
well  as  skill  at  the  plow,  the  Cincinnatus  of  Iowa  is  soon  to 
leave  his  farm  to  preside  at  the  helm  of  State. ' ' —  Quoted  from 
the  Dubuque  Times  in  The  Iowa  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  July  27, 
1859. 

193  Iowa  State  Journal  (Des  Moines),  August  20,  1859. 

i94T7ie  Iowa  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  August  10,  1859;  Iowa 
Weekly  Eepublican  (Iowa  City),  August  10,  1859.  A  good 
account  of  this  debate  and  of  the  entire  campaign  is  to  be 
found  in  Pelzer's  Augustus  Caesar  Dodge,  Ch.  XVIII. 

195  Iowa  State  Journal  (Des  Moines),  August  6,  1859. 

196  The   Iowa   Citizen    (Des   Moines),    August    3,    10,    1859; 
Iowa  Weekly  Eepublican  (Iowa  City),  August  10,  1859. 

197  Autobiography  of  James  B.  Weaver,  manuscript  copy  in 
possession  of  The  State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa. 

19*  Iowa  State  Journal  (Des  Moines),  August  13,  1859;  Iowa 
Weekly  Eepublican  (Iowa  City),  August  17,  24,  1859. 

iso  The  Iowa  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  August  10,  1859. 

200  Many  of  the  appointments  previously  made  for  Kirkwood, 
were  evidently  accepted  by  Dodge  in  arranging  for  the  joint 


414  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

debates.     For  these  appointments  see  The  Iowa  Citizen    (Des 
Moines),  July  27,  August  3,  1859. 

201  Quoted  from  the  Winterset  Madisonian  in  the  Iowa  State 
Journal  (Des  Moines),  August  27,  1859. 

202  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  IX,  p.  225. 

203Garver's  Reminiscences  of  John  H.  Charles  in  the  Annals 
of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  VIII,  p.  427. 

204  The  Washington  Press,  September  7,  1859;  and  clippings 
in  Kirkwood  Scrap-books  in  the  possession  of  The  State  His 
torical   Society   of   Iowa,   large   scrap-book,   pp.    25,   45;    small 
scrap-book,  p.  21. 

205  The  Washington  Press,  September  7,  1859. 

2oe  For  a  list  of  the  speaking  appointments  in  eastern  Iowa 
see  The  Iowa  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  August  31,  1859.  The 
newspapers  of  the  period  are  full  of  accounts  of  these  debates. 

207  Clipping  in  large  Kirkwood  Scrap-look,  p.  120. 

208  por  a  iist  Of  Kirkwood 's  final  appointments  see  The  Iowa 
Citizen   (Des  Moines),  August  31,  1859. 

Opposition  newspapers  continued  to  assail  Kirkwood  in  the 
most  scurrilous  manner.  "Talk  of  Sam  Kirkwood 's  l  brilliant 
oratory!'  "  exclaimed  the  Davenport  Democrat.  "One  might 
as  well  talk  of  the  graceful  antics  of  an  overgrown  jackass." 
' '  No  words  are  too  vulgar  and  loathsome  to  glide  smoothly  and 
easily  through  his  dirty  lips ' ',  declared  the  Oskaloosa  Times. 
' i  Inuendoes  and  double  entendres  are  too  inexpressive  to  per 
form  the  task  allotted  them  by  this  prince  of  dirty  black 
guards." —  Quoted  in  the  Iowa  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa 
City),  September  21,  1859. 

200  The  Iowa  Citizen  (Des  Moines),  September  28,  October 
10,  1859. 

210  The  Iowa  Official  Register,  1915-1916,  p.  542. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  415 

CHAPTER  XIII 

211  Letter  from  James  W.  Grimes  to  Kirkwood,  October  25, 
1859.—  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  VIII,  p.  514.   Some 
reasons   for  Senator   Grimes 's   objection   to   the   county  judge 
system  may  be  discovered  by  reading  Crawford's  The  County 
Judge  System  in  Iowa  with  Special  Reference  to  its  Workings 
in  Pottawattamie  County  in  The  Iowa  Journal  of  History  and 
Politics,  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  478-521. 

212  Letter  from  Frank  P.  Blair,  November  3,  1859. —  Kirk- 
wood  Correspondence,  No.   191. 

213  Letter    from    James    R.    Doolittle,    November    9,    1859. — 
Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  192.    As  will  be  seen,  Kirkwood 
did  espouse  the  cause  of  colonization  in  his  inaugural  address. 

214  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  193. 

215  Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1860,  p.  51. 

216  Shambaugh's   Messages   and   Proclamations   of   the   Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  229-247.     It  would  be  difficult  to 
trace  the  effects  of  this  address  in  the  legislation  of  the  Eighth 
General  Assembly  of  Iowa.     At  any  rafe  the  Governor's  sug 
gestion  relative  to  the  colonization  plan  was  not  followed. 

217  The  Iowa  Citizen   (Des  Moines),  January  25,  1860;   An 
nals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  VIII,  p.  202. 

218  Daily  Iowa  State  Journal  (Des  Moines),  January  13,  24, 
February  16,  20,  21,  1860;  Shambaugh's  Messages  and  Procla 
mations  of  the  Governors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  247-251. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  member  of  the  Senate  whose 
name  headed  the  protest  afterwards  characterized  the  inaugural 
address  as  follows :  ' '  Great  questions  were  before  the  State 
and  country,  and  they  were  all  discussed  with  the  skill  of  a 
trained  publicist  and  the  intuitions  of  a  far-seeing  statesman." 
—  Proceedings  of  the  Pioneer  Law-Makers '  Association  of 
Iowa,  1886,  p.  24. 

219  Annals  of  Iowa  (3rd  Series),  Vol.  V,  p.  311. 

R.  E.  Graves  of  Dubuque  wrote  on  January  21,  1860,  asking 
Kirkwood  for  a  portrait  of  himself  to  be  used  in  making  a  cut 


416  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

for  printing  on  the  certificates  of  deposit  of  the  Branch  of  the 
State  Bank  at  Dubuque. —  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  202. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

220  Partisanship  was  so  strong  that  Governor  Kirkwood  was 
seldom  allowed  for  long  at  a  time  to  forget  that  he  had  political 
enemies.     For  instance  in  January,  1860,  a  Des  Moines  editor 
raked  up  the  old  campaign  attack  concerning  the  appropriations 
needed   for  the   Insane  Asylum  at  Mt.  Pleasant. —  Daily  Iowa 
State  Journal   (Des  Moines),  January  30,  1860. 

221  The  following  account  of  the  Barclay  Coppoc  case  is  based 
on  a  scholarly  monograph  on  The  Rendition  of  Barclay  Coppoc, 
written   by   Mr.    Thomas   Teakle,   and   published   in    The   Iowa 
Journal  of  History  and  Politics,  Vol.   X,   pp.   503-566,  which 
presents    a    thorough    and    detailed    discussion    of    the    whole 
affair. 

The  documents  in  the  case  may  be  found  in  Shambaugh's 
Mtsxages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Governors  of  lou'a,  Vol.  IT, 
pp.  378,  379,  380-402.  See  also  Journal  of  the  Senate,  1860; 
Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1860;  and  the  Dally 
Iowa  State  Journal  (Des  Moines),  February  29,  March  1,  2,  6, 
1860. 

222  Governor  Kirkwood 's  name  was  among  those  signed  to  a 
request  that  the  Hart  family  should  repeat  a  concert  previously 
given  in  Des  Moines. —  Daily  Iowa  State  Register  (Des  Moines), 
February  25,  1860. 

223  Letter  from  Valentine  Miller,  February  5,   I860.—  Kirl'- 
tcood  Correspondence,  No.  205. 

22-*  Letter  from  Ezekiel  Clark,  March  6,  I860.—  EirJciroofl 
Correspondence,  No.  211. 

225  Shambaugh 's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov- 
<  niors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  IT,  pp.  359-366. 

--''.Shambaugh's    Messages    and    Proclamations    of    the    Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  If,  ])]>.  371,  376,  377,  380;   Laws  of  loira, 
1,  pp.  142,  1-13. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  417 

227  iolva  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  April  11,  1860. 

228  Letter    from    James    W.    Grimes,    December    26,    1859. — 
Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  196. 

229  Daily  Iowa  State  Register  (Des  Moines),  March  29,  1860. 

230  The    relation    of    Iowa    men    to   the    first   nomination    of 
Abraham  Lincoln  is  well  set  forth  by  Professor  F.  I.  Herriott 
in  a  series  of  articles  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa   (Third  Series), 
Vols.  VIII,   IX.     See  also  Pelzer's   The  History  of  Political 
Parties  in  Iowa  from  1857  to  1860  in  The  Iowa  Journal  of 
History  and  Politics,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  179-229. 

231  Letter  from  Henry  Farnam,  April  24,  1860. —  Kirkwood 
Correspondence,  No.  223. 

232  See  statement  in  Herriott 's  Iowa  and  the  First  Nomina 
tion  of  Abraham  Lincoln  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series), 
Vol.  VIII,  p.  114. 

233  Quoted  in  Herriott 's  Iowa  and  the  First  Nomination  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa   (Third  Series),  Vol. 
VIII,  p.  96. 

234  See  Lathrop  's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirlc 
wood,   p.    87.     Professor   Herriott    says    that    ' '  Saunders   and 
Kirkwood  were  perhaps  Iowa's  leaders  in  promoting  Lincoln's 
candidacy:    One  or  the  other  probably  taking  part  in  the  'Com 
mittee  of  Twelve'  whose  decision  doubtless  exercised  a  potent 
if  not   decisive  influence  upon  the  final   result." — Annals   of 
Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  VIII,  p.  114. 

235  For  evidences  of  Kirkwood 's  active  participation  in  this 
campaign  in  Lincoln's  behalf  see  the  Iowa  Weekly  Republican 
(Iowa  City),  May  23,  June  27,  July  4,  August   1,   8,   15,  29, 
October  24,  31,  1860.     His  correspondence  for  this  period  re 
veals  the  fact  that  he  received  more  urgent  invitations  to  speak 
in  different  parts  of  the  State  than  he  could  possibly  accept. 

230  Letter    from   James   Harlan,    July   30,    1860. —  KirTcwood 
Correspondence,  No.  256. 

237  The  Iowa  State  Register  (Des  Moines),  August  22,  1860. 
28 


418  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

2:ss  Iowa  Weekly  Republican   (Iowa  City),  September  5,  I860. 

~™  Iowa  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  October  24,  31, 
I860. 

2-10  Iowa  Historical  Record,  Vol.  VII,  p.  39. 

241  The  Iowa  State  Register  (Des  Moines),  May  16,  1800. 
A  communication  from  William  Penu  Clarke  of  Iowa  City, 
objecting  to  Kirkwood's  action  in  instructing  the  State  Treas 
urer  not  to  pay  interest  on  the  warrants  of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb 
Asylum,  appeared  in  the  Iowa  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City), 
April  18,  I860. 

-4-  George  G.  Wright  had  already  served  one  term  on  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Iowa,  but  in  1859  he  declined  a  renomination. 
He  was  reflected  in  the  fall  of  1860  and  served  until  1870,  when 
he  was  chosen  United  States  Senator  from  Iowa. 

243  The  Iowa  State  Register  (Des  Moines),  July  11,  1860. 

244  See  the  Iowa  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  August  29, 
September  5,  1860. 

24">  Shambaugh's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  p.  467. 

24«  Joira  Historical  Record,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  429-431. 
247  Kirku'ood  Correspondence,  No.  311. 

2isKirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  231,  238,  275,  299;  Iowa 
Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  December  19,  1860. 


CHAPTER   XV 

240  Iowa  Historical  Record,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  39,  40. 
2-'(>  Iowa  Historical  Record,  Vol.  II,  pp.  375-378. 

-•"•1  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  329.  Much  material  rela 
tive  to  military  affairs  in  Iowa  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
may  be  found  in  the  Archives  at  Des  Moines,  especially  in  tin1 
Executive  Journal,  1858-1862,  and  correspondence  in  a  box 
labelled  Militia,  1839-1874. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  419 

252  Iowa  Historical  Record,  Vol.  II,  pp.  372-375. 
ass  Iowa  Historical  Record,  Vol.  II,  pp.  372,  373. 
254  The  War  of  the  Rebellion :   Official  Records,  Series   III, 
Vol.  I,  p.  55. 

250  Iowa  Historical  Record,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  34-38.  This  is  an 
account  of  his  first  interview  with  President  Lincoln  written  by 
Kirkwood  himself  in  1891.  "I  was  not  then  (nor  am  I  now) 
much  acquainted  with  the  etiquette  of  calls  upon  or  by  Presi 
dents  or  Presidents-elect,  and  I  have  since  thought  that  he  did 
not  know  much  more  on  that  somewhat  intricate  subject  than  I 
did  or  care  any  more  about  it. ' ' 

2r»fl  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  330.  Alvin  Saunders  be 
came  Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Nebraska  later  in  1861. 

257  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  351. 

258  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  354. 

259  Jotca  Weekly  Republican  (Iowa  City),  March  6,  1861. 

Early  in  March  the  Governor  received  a  letter  from  the  Chi 
cago  agent  of  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson  Manufacturing  Company, 
saying  that  he  was  sending  Kirkwood  a  sewing-machine,  with 
the  compliments  of  the  company  and  himself.  A  machine,  he 
said,  had  also  been  sent  to  Abraham  Lincoln. —  Kirkwood  Cor 
respondence,  No.  345. 

200  Byers  's  loica  in  War  Times,  p.  28 ;  The  War  of  the  Re 
bellion  :  Official  Records,  Series  III,  Vol.  I,  pp.  68,  69. 

261  Lathrop  's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
pp.  114,  115;  Byers's  Iowa  in  War  Times,  p.  28. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

262  Lathrop 's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
p.  115. 

263  The  Iowa  State  Register  (Des  Moines),  April  24,  1861. 

2<*4  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  Official  Records,  Series  III, 
Vol.  I,  p.  87.  Unfortunately  Governor  Kirkwood  was  soon  to 


420  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

find  that,  although  his  statement  continued  to  characterize  the 
vast  majority  of  the  people  of  Iowa,  there  was  a  troublesome 
minority  which  did  not  propose  to  live  up  to  his  description. 

265  Shambaugh 's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  468,  469. 

200  Shambaugh 's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  469,  470. 

2«7  Letter  to  Secretary  Cameron,  April  16,  1861.—  The  War 
of  the  Rebellion :  Official  Records,  Series  III,  Vol.  I,  pp.  74,  75. 

The  requisition  from  the  Secretary  of  War  stated  that  the 
Iowa  regiment  should  be  in  rendezvous  at  Keokuk  by  May  20th. 
A  large  number  of  telegrams  and  letters  from  the  War  Depart 
ment  to  Governor  Kirkwood,  containing  instructions  concerning 
the  raising,  mobilizing,  and  mustering  of  the  Iowa  troops  at  the 
beginning  of  the  War  may  be  found  in  The  War  of  the  Rebel 
lion:  Official  Records,  Series  III,  Vol.  I. 

For  discussions  of  Governor  Kirkwood 's  activities  in  connec 
tion  with  the  raising  of  the  first  regiments  see  Lathrop  's  The 
Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  pp.  116-120;  and 
Byers's  Iowa  in  War  Times,  Ch.  III.  Much  material  may  be 
found  in  the  Executive  Journal,  1858-1862,  p.  350  ff,  Archives, 
DCS  Moines. 

268  Letter  to  Captain  W.  S.  Robertson  of  Columbus  City, 
Iowa,  April  24,  1861.—  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  1, 
p.  7,  in  the  possession  of  The  State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa 
at  Iowa  City. 

'-'«!•  Letter  to  John  W.  Eankin  of  Keokuk,  April  25,  1861. — 
Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  1,  pp.  25-27. 

270  Letter    to    J.    W.    Rankin    of    Keokuk,    April    26,    ISC)].— 
h'ir/cwood  Military  Letter  Book,   No.   1,  pp.   33,  34. 

271  Letter  to  James  B.  Ilowell   of  Keokuk,  April  30,  1S61.— 
Kirkwood  Military   L<tt<r  Hook,  No.   1,  pp.   47-55.      This  long 
and  earnest  letter,  like  many  others  of  a  similar  character,  in 
the  Governor's  own  handwriting,  offers  proof  of  his  desire  to  be 
just  and  fair  in  all  his  actions. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  421 

272  For  brief  discussions  of  the  services  of  various  men  in 
offering  financial  aid  to  the  State  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
see  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  I,  pp.  594,  595; 
Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  pp.  118, 
119,   127;    Byers's  Iowa  in   War  Times,  pp.   42,   43.     Letters 
dealing  with  the  financial  problems  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
may  be  found  in  the  Executive  Journal,  1858-1862,  Archives, 
Des  Moines. 

273  Rirkwood  Military  Letter  Bool:,  No.  1,  p.  194. 

274  The   War  of  the  Rebellion:   Official  Records,  Series  III, 
Vol.  I,  pp.  127,  128. 

275  This  letter  was  printed  in  The  Iowa  State  Register  (Des 
Moines),  May  15,  1861,  no  doubt  for  the  purpose  of  answering 
the  criticisms  of  Governor  Kirkwood  because  of  his  failure  to 
secure   arms   for   the   Iowa   troops.      The   Governor's  Military 
Letter  Boole  for  this  period  contains  scores  of  patient  letters 
written  by  him  in  response  both  to  honest  inquiries  and  ma 
licious  complaints. 

276  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  1,  p.  142. 

277  Shambaugh's   Messages   and  Proclamations   of   the   Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  470,  471. 

278  Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (Extra  Session), 
1861,  pp.  3,  4. 

279  Shambaugh's   Messages   and   Proclamations   of   the   Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  252-263. 

280  Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (Extra  Session), 
1861,  p.  15. 

281  For  the  laws  enacted  at  this  session  see  Laws  of  Iowa 
(Extra  Session),  1861. 

282  For  special  messages  of  the  Governor  in  reply  to  requests 
for  information  concerning  the  raising  and  equipping  of  troops, 
the   dangers  of  the  invasion  of  Iowa,  and  other  subjects  see 
Shambaugh's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Governors  of 
Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  404-425. 


422  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

CHAPTER  xvn 

2*3  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  3(57,  Historical  Depart 
ment,  DCS  Moines. 

-'*•»  Letter  from  W.  H.  Kinsman,  May  29,  ISO].—  Kirk  wood 
Correspondence,  No.  369. 

-^•'  The  Iowa  Slate  Register  (Des  Moines),  June  5,  1861. 

^'••Letter  from  Le  Roy  G.  Palmer  of  Mt.  Pleasant,  July  1.1. 
1S61. —  Kirk  wood  Correspondence,  No.  377. 

-s~  Fail-all's  Manual  of  Iowa  Politics,  Vol.  I,  Part  I,  pp.  57, 
58.  For  a  brief  account  of  this  convention  see  Olynthus  B. 
Clark's  monograph  on  The  Politics  of  Iowa  During  the  Civil 
l\'ar  and  Reconstruction,  pp.  116-119. 

288  The  Iowa  State  Register  (Des  Moines),  August  7,  ISlil. 
The  ballots  were  as  follows: 

Informal  ballot:  Kirkwood,  272yL, ;  Elijah  Sells,  29;  F.  H. 
Warren,  29;  S.  A.  Eice,  12M>;  S.  F.  Miller,  31. 

Formal  ballot:  Kirkwood,  310U;  Sells,  12;  Warren,  3:2 K>; 
Miller,  19. 

John   R.   Needham   was  nominated   for   Lieutenant   Governor. 

For  a  brief  discussion  of  an  estrangement  which  arose  be 
tween  Kirkwood  and  Elijah  Sells,  see  the  Annals  of  Iowa 
(Third  Series),  Vol.  II,  pp.  525-527. 

^so  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  385.  H.  M.  Hoxie  offered 
his  services  to  the  Governor  in  a  letter  received  about  the  same 
time. 

-'•"»  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  387. 
-"•"  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  392. 

-!)-  For  an  account  of  the  Union  party  movement  in  Iowa  see 
Clark's  The  Politics  of  Iowa  During  the  Civil  War  and  Re 
construction,  pp.  111-114,  119-121,  123-133.  Evidence  of 
Reuben  Noble's  loyalty  to  Governor  Kirkwood  is  to  be  found 
in  a  footnote  on  p.  129. 

-'•^>  The  activities  of  the  Democrats  during  this  campaign  are 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  423 

well  discussed  in  Clark's  The  Politics  of  Iowa  During  the  Civil 
War  and  Reconstruction,  Ch.  V. 

29-t  The  Sherman  Hall  speech  is  printed  in  full  in  The  Iowa 
State  Register  (Des  Moines),  September  11,  1861. 

205  In  a  long  letter  to  Samuel  F.  Miller  of  Keokuk  on  June 
26,  1861,  Kirkwood  made  a  very  clear  statement  of  his  financial 
difficulties. —  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Boole,  No.  1,  pp.  271, 
272 

2oc  For  a  further  discussion  of  the  difficulties  encountered  in 
the  sale  of  the  State  bonds  see  below,  pp.  207-210. 

207  The  returns  of  this  election  have  been  variously  reported. 
The  Iowa  Official  Eegister,  1915-1916,  p.  542,  gives  Kirkwood 
60,303,  and  Merritt  43,245.  FairalPs  Manual  of  Iowa  Politics, 
Vol.  I,  Part  I,  p.  60,  gives  Kirkwood  59,853,  and  Merritt 
43,245.  The  official  canvass  by  the  legislature  as  recorded  in 
the  Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1862,  p.  38,  credits 
Kirkwood  with  60,252,  and  Merritt  with  only  40,187.  Lathrop 
in  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  p.  142,  places 
Kirkwood 's  plurality  at  16,600.  FairalPs  figures,  however, 
agree  with  the  statistics  as  found  in  the  archives  in  Des  Moines 
by  Professor  Olynthus  B.  Clark  and  recorded  in  The  Politics  of 
Iowa  During  the  Civil  War  and  Reconstruction,  p.  133. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

2os  KirTcicood  Correspondence,  No.  433.  See  also  No.  438, 
for  a  similar  complaint. 

299  Among  the  offers  of  aid  from  outside  the  State  was  that 
of  Solomon  Sturges  of  Chicago,  who  expressed  his  willingness 
to  advance  $100,000.  See  the  Iowa  City  Republican,  November 
2,  1864. 

Although  Kirkwood  had  no  authority  to  accept  the  offer 
made  by  Mr.  Sturges,  he  wrote  on  June  20,  1861,  as  follows: 
1 '  Accept  my  very  hearty  thanks  for  your  kind  offer  of  aid  to 
me  in  preparing  the  troops  of  this  State  for  service  in  antici 
pation  of  the  sale  of  our  State  Bonds.  When  wealth  &  the  will 


424  SAMUEL  J.  KIRK  WOOD 

to  use  wealth  wisely  &  well  unite,  the  wealthy  become  as  in 
your  wise  public  benefactors." — Kirk  wood  Military  Letter 
Bool',  No.  1,  p.  264. 

soo  K irkwood  Military  Letter  Bool-,  No.  1,  pp.  271,  272. 

For  a  public  report  of  the  agents  appointed  to  take  charge 
of  the  sale  of  bonds  see  Shambaugh 's  Messages  and  Proclama 
tions  of  the  Governors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  474—476. 

301  Letter  from  N.  H.  Brainerd  to  Captain  M.  V.  McKinney 
of  Des  Moines,  September  3,  1861. —  Kirk-wood  Military  Letter 
Bool,  No.  1,  p.  299.  Later  letters  (pp.  413-415)  indicate  that 
an  attempt  had  been  made  to  purchase  arms  by  the  use  of 
State  bonds. 

;:°-  Letter  from  N.  H.  Brainerd  to  Samuel  Merrill,  September 
12,  1861.—  Kirk  wood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  1,  p.  341.  The 
extent  of  the  Governor's  personal  debt,  amounting  to  thousands 
of  dollars,  is  indicated  in  another  letter  on  p.  369. 

sos  Report  of  the  Auditor  of  State,  1861,  p.  14. 

304  Shambaugh  's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  476-482.  "There  is  not  a  man 
or  woman  in  Iowa,"  he  said  at  the  close  of  one  of  these  ap 
peals,  "who  would  not  blush  if  we  had  to  seek  men  outside  of 
our  State  to  fill  the  ranks  of  our  regiments.  Shall  it  be  said 
we  had  to  go  outside  of  our  State  for  means  to  equip  and  pay 
them?" 

sor,  gee  Shambaugh 's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  p.  450. 

300  See  above  pp.  202-204. 

SOT  For  instance  see  Byers's  Iowa  in   IVar  Times,  pp.  52,  53. 

sos  Report  of  the  Auditor  of  State,  1861,  p.  14. 

•':|):i  For  a  biographical  sketch  of  Nathan  Hoit  Brainerd  see 
the  Iowa  Historical  Record,  Vol.  XVTII,  pp.  401-406. 

•°-io  The  list  of  aids  here  given  is  the  list  published  in  The 
f  oirt,  Staff  Register  (Des  Moines),  July  3,  1861. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  425 

suByers's  Iowa  in  War  Times,  p.  56.  In  a  letter  of  July 
24,  1861,  Kirkwood  thanked  Bowen  for  his  services,  and  said 
he  had  intended  to  appoint  Thomas  McKean  of  Marion  as  his 
successor.  But  McKean  had  become  Paymaster  in  the  United 
States  Army. —  Executive  Journal,  1858-1862,  p.  476,  Archives, 
Des  Moines. 

312  A  brief  biography  of  Nathaniel  B.  Baker,  written  by 
B.  F.  Gue,  is  to  be  found  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series), 
Vol.  I,  pp.  81-99. 

sis  Letter  from  N.  H.  Brainerd  to  John  G.  Weeks  of  Des 
Moines,  September  10,  1861. —  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book, 
No.  1,  p.  327. 

314  Letter  from  N.  H.  Brainerd  to  Levi  Fuller  of  West 
Union,  September  10,  1861. —  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book, 
No.  1,  p.  335. 

sis  Letter  to  C.  Nash  of  Mt.  Pleasant,  December  14,  1861. — 
Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  3,  pp.  20-23. 

3if»  Letter  to  Dr.  James  D.  Gray  of  Talleyrand,  April  2,  1862. 

—  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  3,  pp.  267,  268. 

si?  Letter  to  John  Edwards  of  Chariton,  December  18,  1861. 

—  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.   3,  p.   25.     For  later 
letters  dealing  with  the  same  point  see  pp.  28,  86-90,  143-146. 

sis  Shambaugh 's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  471-473. 

sio  Shambaugh  's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  482,  483. 

320  Letter   to   Col.   John   W.   Eankin,   December   23,    1861. — 
Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  3,  p.  47. 

321  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  Official  Records,  Series  III, 
Vol.  I,  pp.  311,  325. 

322  Shambaugh  'a   Messages   and   Proclamations   of   the   Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  p.  485. 

On  September  16,  1861,  James  W.  Grimes  wrote  a  letter  to 


421)  SAMUEL  J.  KIKKWOOD 

the  Secretary  of  War  saying  that  Iowa  then  had  twelve  regi 
ments  in  the  field,  ''a  larger  number  than  any  other  State  in 
proportion  to  her  population."  Four  thousand  more  men 
could  be  raised  at  once  if  provision  could  be  made  for  their 
families. —  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  Official  Records,  Series 
III,  Vol.  I,  p.  521. 

«23  This  letter,  copies  of  which  were  doubtless  sent  to  all  the 
loyal  Governors,  is  to  be  found  in  the  Kirkwood  Correspondence, 
No.  424. 

324  Kirk  wood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  3,  p.  85. 


CHAPTEE   XIX 

•''-•"•  Shambaugh  's   Messages   and   Proclamations    of    the    Gov- 

<  rnors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  264-295. 

It  was  no  doubt  the  insistence  in  this  message  on  the  prompt 
payment  of  taxes  which  elicited  the  following  sarcastic  letter 
from  the  treasurer  of  Johnson  County,  who  either  did  not 
realize  Kirkwood's  personal  financial  embarrassment  or  was 
disposed  to  heckle  him : 

"Permit  me  to  say  a  word  about  your  delinquent  taxes  in 
this  County.  Mr.  Sperry  sold  a  portion  of  it  [Kirkwood's 
property]  last  fall  for  the  Taxes,  and  now  there  are  plenty  of 
purchasers  for  the  balance.  They  consider  a  good  Joke  on  you 
to  urge  in  your  inaugural  the  prompt  payment  of  taxes,  and  at 
the  same  time  leave  your  own  unpaid,  no  doubt  but  in  the  vast 
amount  of  your  duties  you  have  forgotten  it,  or  supposed  they 
were  paid." — Kirk  wood  Correspondence,  No.  459. 

••!-'•  Shambaugh 's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov- 
>  rnors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  275-281. 

327  Shambaugh 's   Messages   and  Proclamations   of   the    Gor- 
t  rnors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  p.  282. 

328  Shambaugh 's    Messages    and   Proclamations    of    the    Gov- 

<  rnors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  If,  pp.  294,  295. 

32»  Journal  of  the  House  of  Iicprescn tat  ires,  lSf>2.  pp.  39,  40. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  427 

330  Shambaugh 's   Messages   and   Proclamations   of   the   Gov 
ernors  of  loiva,  Vol.  II,  pp.  296-310. 

331  Letter    from    George    B.    Corkhill,    January    29,    1862. — 
Kirk  wood  Correspondence,  No.  447. 

332  Letter  from  Chas.  Geo.  Allhusen,  Kiel,  Denmark,  March  6, 
1862.—  KirTcwood  Correspondence,  No.  469. 

333  For  a  discussion  of  Kirkwood  's  personal  attitude  toward 
the  administration  and  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  see  below, 
pp.  292-296. 

334  This  brief  account  of  the  celebration  at  the  news  of  the 
capture  of  Fort  Donelson  is  taken  from  an  article  by  Charles 
Aldrich  in  the  Iowa  Historical  Eecord,  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  215-221. 

335  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Bool-,  No.  3,  pp.  159,  165,  223, 
224.     See  also  the  Iowa  Historical  Eecord,  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  222- 

228. 

336  KirTcwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  3,  pp.  220-222. 
Governor  Kirkwood 's  zeal  to  protect  the  good  name  of  the 

Iowa  troops  is  further  illustrated  by  a  letter  written  on  April  3, 
1862,  to  Governor  Washburne  of  Maine.  In  this  letter  he  pro 
tested  against  the  implied  reflection  on  the  valor  of  the  Iowa 
soldiers  in  the  assault  on  Fort  Donelson,  contained  in  a  reso 
lution  of  the  legislature  of  Maine  praising  the  western  troops 
for  their  bravery  in  that  battle.— Pp.  269-271. 

CHAPTER   XX 

33"  A  monograph  on  the  enlistment  of  soldiers  in  Iowa  during 
the  Civil  War  prepared  by  Dr.  John  E.  Briggs  appears  in  The 
Iowa  Journal  of  History  and  Politics,  Vol.  XV,  pp.  323-392. 
No  attempt  has  been  made  in  this  volume  to  present  an  ade 
quate  treatment  of  the  subject. 

sss  For  data  relative  to  the  various  calls  for  troops  and  the 
quotas  of  the  different  States,  see  Phisterer's  Statistical  Eecord 
of  the  Armies  of  the  United  States,  pp.  3-11. 

sss  The  War  of  the  Eebellion:  Official  Eecords,  Series  III, 
Vol.  II,  p.  206. 


428  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

340  Kirfcwood  Military  Letter  Bool,  No.  2,  p.  325. 

3-ti  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  Official  Records,  Scries  III, 
Vol.  II,  pp.  399,  416. 

342  The   War  of   the  Rebellion :   Official  Records,  Series   III, 
Vol.  II,  p.  417. 

343  Kirlwood  Military  Letter  Bool;  No.  2,  pp.  328,  329. 

344  Kirlwood  's  Military  Letter  Bool;  No.  2,  pp.  473,  474. 

345  Shambaugh 's   Messages    and   Proclamations    of    the    Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  499-501. 

340  Shambaugh  's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  504,  505. 

As  late  as  November  20,  1862,  there  was  still  difficulty  in 
filling  up  the  old  regiments.  ''Officers  here  recruiting  for  the 
Regular  Army  are  enlisting  men  recruited  by  me  for  the  old 
regiments",  was  Kirkwood's  protest  on  that  day  to  Secretary 
Stanton.  "If  this  is  not  stopped  I  will  cease  all  efforts.  I 
protest,  too,  most  earnestly  against  enlisting  men  from  our 
regiments  into  the  regular  service.  I  will  not  endeavor  to  fill 
up  vacancies  thus  created. "-  —  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  Of 
ficial  Records,  Series  III,  Vol.  II,  p.  845. 

347  For  correspondence  on  the  subject  of  the  draft  in  Iowa 
see  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  Official  Records,  Series  III,  Vol. 
II,  pp.  254,  291,  317,  339,  383,  440,  442,  464,  471,  485,  486,  491, 
513,  843,  844,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  62,  63,  193,  520,  521,  576,  637,  638, 
865,  904.     See  also  Brainerd's  Iowa  and  the  Draft  in  the  Iowa 
Historical  Record,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  65-67. 

348  Letter  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Addison  H.   Saunders,  May 
21,  1862.—  Kirlwood  Military  Letter  Bool;  No.  2,  p.  171. 

349  Shambaugh 's   Messages   and  Proclamations   of    the   Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  502-504. 

sso  Shambaugh 's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  311-318. 

•''•"•I  Letter  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Harvey  Graham,  December  6, 
1862. —  Kirlwood  Military  Letter  Bool,  No.  4,  p.  340. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  429 

352  Letter  to  Mr.  Truesdell,  November  13,  1862.—  Kirkwood 
Military  Letter  Bool:,  No.  4,  p.  175. 

353  Letter  to   M.   B.   Cochran,   January   5,   1863.—  Kirkwood 
Military  Letter  Boole,  No.  4,  p.  417. 

354  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Boole,  No.  6,  pp.  55-57. 

355  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  p.  70.     See  also 
pp.  72,  73,  241. 

356  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  pp.  491-495,  No. 
7,  pp.  134-139. 

357  lowa  City  Republican,  June  24,  1863.     See  also  Byers's 
Iowa  in  War  Times,  p.  231. 

358  The   War   of   the  Rebellion:    Official  Records,   Series   II, 
Vol.  IV,  pp.  250,  251. 

359  The   War  of  the  Rebellion:    Official  Records,  Series   II, 
Vol.  IV,  pp.  257,  285. 

300  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  Official  Records,  Series  II, 
Vol.  lV,  p.  631. 

361  The   War   of  the  Rebellion:    Official  Records,   Series  II, 
Vol.   IV,  p.  718.     For   further  correspondence  relative  to  the 
exchange  of  prisoners  see  pp.  131-133,  295-299,  474,  598,  638, 
639,  649,  650,  672,  689,  713. 

362  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  3,  pp.  1-3. 
ses  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  3,  p.  240. 
364  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  p.  37. 

sen  Letter  from  Colonel  Nicholas  Perczel,  August  1,  1862. — 
Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  535. 

see  Letter  to  Colonel  Nicholas  Perczel,  August  11,  1862. — 
Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  2,  p.  527. 

367  Letter  to  Captain  S.  M.  Archer,  November  6,  1862. — 
Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  4,  pp.  154,  155. 

ses  Letter  to  Colonel  William  Vandever,  October  31,  1862. — 
Kirkw-ood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  4,  pp.  96-98. 


430  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

3co  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  2,  p.  173. 

"•70  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  4,  pp.  124,  125. 

"7i  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  4,  p.  212. 

"•72  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  2,  pp.  573,  574. 

"7:;  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  p.  46. 

CHAPTER  XXI 

"74  The  account  of  the  Altoona  conference  of  loyal  Governors 
here  presented  is  based  on  a  narrative  by  Kirkwood  himself, 
printed  in  the  Iowa  Historical  Eecord,  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  210-214. 
The  quotations,  except  where  otherwise  indicated,  are  taken 
from  this  source. 

For  further  material  on  the  conference  see  the  New  York 
Weekly  Tribune,  September  27,  October  4,  11,  1862;  Pearson's 
The  Life  of  John  A.  Andrew,  Vol.  II,  pp.  48-53,  56-58;  Nicolay 
and  Hay's  Abraham  Lincoln:  A  History,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  164—167; 
McClure's  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Men  of  War  Times,  pg.  249- 
251. 

375  Quoted  from  the  New  York  Tribune  in  the  Iowa  City  Re 
publican,  October  29,  1862. 

CHAPTER   XXII 

"70  Letter  to  Jesse  Evans  of  Bedford,  April  30,  1861.— 
Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  1,  pp.  44,  45. 

The  Governor's  suggestion  at  this  time  and  his  orders  later 
were  followed,  and  "home  guard"  companies  were  organized 
in  most  of  the  counties  of  southern  Iowa.  For  instance  see 
Bryant's  A  War  Time  Militia  Company  in  The  Iowa  Journal  of 
Hixtory  and  Politics,  Vol.  X,  pp.  403-414. 

377  Letter  to  Richard  Chamberlain  of  Clarence,  Missouri, 
May  10,  1861. —  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  1,  p.  150. 

"~s  Shambaugh 's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  277,  278. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  431 

379  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  Official  Records,  Series  I,  Vol. 
Ill,  p.  413.  See  also  Bussey's  The  Battle  of  Athens,  Missouri 
in  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  V,  pp.  81-92; 
and  Shambaugh 's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  p.  278. 

3so  The  War  of  the  Eebellion:  Official  Records,  Series  III, 
Vol.  I,  p.  560. 

ssi  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  Official  Records,  Series  III, 
Vol.  I,  pp.  561,  562. 

382  For  an  account  of  one  of  these  raids  see  The  Iowa  Jour 
nal  of  History  and  Politics,  Vol.  X,  pp.  411-414. 

ss3  Kirku'ood  Military  Letter  Boole,  No.  6,  pp.  217,  218. 

384  The  War  of  the  Rebellion :   Official  Records,  Series  III, 
Vol.  I,  pp.  57,  86. 

385  The  War  of  the  Rebellion :   Official  Records,  Series  III, 
Vol.  I,  pp.  127,  162. 

386  The  War  of  the  Rebellion :   Official  Records,  Series  III, 
Vol.  I,  pp.  185,  186. 

SB?  Shambaugh  's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  278,  279. 

sss  For  an  account  of  the  situation  see  Ingham  's  The  Iowa 
Northern  Border  Brigade  of  1862-3  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa 
(Third  Series),  Vol.  V,  pp.  481-523. 

389  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  V,  p.  490. 

woAnnah  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  V,  pp.  494,  495. 

sol  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  Official  Records,  Series  I,  Vol. 
XIII,  p.  620. 

392  Van   der  Zee 's  Forts  in  the  Iowa   Country  in   The  Iowa 
Journal  of  History  and  Politics,  Vol.  XII,  pp.  199-202. 

393  Shambaugh 's   Messages   and   Proclamations   of    the    Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  346,  347. 


432  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

CHAPTEE  XXIII 

304  Letter  from  J.  M.  Shaffer  of  Fairfield,  August  11,  1862. — 
Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  545. 

395  Letter  to  James  W.  Grimes,  November  25,  1862.—  Kirk- 
irood  Military  Letter  Bool-,  No.  4,  pp.  299,  300.  For  letters 
from  D.  A.  Mahoney  to  Kirkwood  concerning  the  former's  ar 
rest  see  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  547,  548;  and  the 
State  Press  (Iowa  City),  December  13,  1862. 

A  large  number  of  letters  relative  to  disloyalty  in  Iowa  dur 
ing  the  Civil  War  are  to  be  found  in  the  Archives  at  Des 
Moines,  especially  in  the  Correspondence  of  the  Governor  and 
in  the  box  labeled  War  Matters,  1858-1S88. 

•'i!lt!  See  charge  against  Kirkwood  and  editorial  from  the  Keo- 
knk  Gate  City  in  the  State  Press  (Iowa  City),  December  13, 
1862. 

SOT  Letter  to  G.  W.  Devin  of  Ottumwa,  February  16,  1863.— 
Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  5,  p.  110. 

3»s  Letter  to  Captain  J.  H.  Summers  of  Decatur  City,  March 
2,  1863. —  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  pp.  38,  39. 

390  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  p.  77. 

400  Letter  to  Secretary  Stanton,  March  10,  1863.—  Kirkwood 
Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  p.  111. 

401  Letter  to  E,  A.  Eichardson  of  Fayette  County,  March  11, 
1863. —  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  p.  114. 

-102  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  Official  Records,  Series  III, 
Vol.  Ill,  pp.  66-68. 

403  Shambaugh  's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  IT,  pp.  511-514. 

•104  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:  Official  Records,  Series  ITT, 
Vol.  II I,  pp.  66-72. 

*or.  Letter  to  L.  B.  Fleak  of  Brighton,  March  9,  1863.— 
Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  p.  96. 

4(1(1  Letter  to  Captain  J.  II.  Summers  of  Decatur  City,  March 
2,  1863.—  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  pp.  38,  39. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  433 

407  Letter  to  Nathan  Udell,  April  22,  1863.—  Kirlcwood  Mili 
tary  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  pp.  366,  367. 

«8  The  War  of  the  Rebellion:   Official  Records,  Series  III, 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  67. 

409  See  The  Iowa  Journal  of  History  and  Politics,  Vol.  X,  pp. 
209-216. 

410  There  are  many  accounts  of  "The  Tally  War",  but  the 
facts    here    presented,    except    when    otherwise    indicated,    are 
taken  chiefly  from  the  Iowa  City  Republican,  August  5  and  12, 
1863;  and  Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirk- 
wood,  pp.  244-252.     See  also  The  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Se 
ries),  Vol.  IX,  pp.  142-145. 

411  Report  of  the  Adjutant  General  (Iowa),  1863-1864,  p.  687. 

412  Report  of  the  Adjutant  General   (Iowa),  1863-1864,  pp. 
689,  690. 

413  Report  of  the  Adjutant  General  (Iowa),  1863-1864,  p.  688. 

4i4Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirlcwood, 
p.  250. 

4i5  Letter  from  N.  P.  Chipman,  May  18,   1865. —  Kirlcwood 
Correspondence,  No.  975. 

estate  Press  (Iowa  City),  April  25,  1863. 

417  State  Press  (Iowa  City),  April  25,  1863.    This  charge  was 
indignantly  branded  as  a  "hell-born  lie"  by  the  editor  of  the 
Iowa  City  Republican  on  May  6th. 

418  Letter  from  J.  M.  Hiatt,  April  5,  1863. —  Kirlcwood  Cor 
respondence,  No.  702. 

419  Letter  to  J.  M.  Hiatt,  April  11,  1863. —  Kirlcwood  Mili 
tary  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  p.  310. 

420  Letter   from   J.    G.    Detwiler,    July   6,    1863. —  Kirlcwood 
Correspondence,  No.  766. 

421  The  facts  of  this  episode  and  the  quotations  are  taken 
from  the  account  written  by  Charles  Negus  which  is  to  be  found 

29 


434  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

in  Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirk-wood,  pp. 
249-251. 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

422  Letter  to  Kliphalet  Price  of  Guttenberg,  March  13,  1863. 
—  Kirk-wood  Military  Letter  Bool',  No.  6,  pp.   141,   142.     For 

the  correspondence  between  Kirkwood  and  the  Iowa  delegation 
at  Washington  in  December,  1862,  and  January,  1863,  see 
Kirk  wood  Correspondence,  No.  580;  and  Kirkwood  Military 
Letter  Bool',  No.  4,  p.  437. 

423  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  684. 

424  Kirkicood  Correspondence,  No.  682. 
42o  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  686. 

420  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Boole,  No.  6,  pp.  288,  289. 

427  Kirkwood    Military    Letter   Book,    No.    6,    pp.    248,    249; 
Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  701. 

42s  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  pp.  326-328. 

429  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  722.     Bradford  R.  Wood, 
then  Minister  to  Denmark,  wrote  that  he  would  be  willing  to 
remain  at  Copenhagen  until  March,  1864,  if  necessary  to  meet 
Kirkwood 's  wishes. —  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  709,  743. 

430  See    letter    from    Grimes,    January   30,    1864.—  Kirkwood 
Correspondence,  No.  931. 

431  state  Press  (Iowa  City),  April  18,  1863. 

432  For  instance  see  letter  to  Grimes,  April  22,  1863.—  Kirk- 
wood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  pp.  373,  374. 

433  Letter  to  S.  Guthrie  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  April  11,  1863. 
-Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  p.  312.     See  also  No. 

7,  pp.  26,  27. 

434  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  7,  pp.  100,  101. 

435  Ku-kirood  Mil  it  tir  if  fitter  Book,  No.  7,  p.  219. 
i  "•  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  931. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  435 

437  Rirlcivood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  p.  289. 

438  Iowa  City  Republican,  July  1,  1863. 

439  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Boole,  No.  7,  p.  65. 

4-to  Quoted  in  Lathrop  's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J. 
Kirlcwood,  pp.  265,  266;  Kirkivood  Correspondence,  No.  810. 

441  See,  for  instance,  a  speech  made  at  West  Union  in  Fayette 
County,  which  is  quoted  in  Lathrop 's  The  Life  and  Times  of 
Samuel  J.  Kirlcwood,  pp.  252-264. 

442  See  the  Iowa  City  Republican,  September  23,  1863. 

443  Letter  to   Dr.   Fred  Lloyd,   September  22,   1863.—  Kirk- 
wood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  7,  p.  262. 

44  4  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  830. 

445  See  letter  to  William  M.  Stone,  October  20,  1863. —  Kirk- 
wood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  7,  p.  348.     See  also  the  loiva 
City  Republican,  December  30,  1863. 

446  Shambaugh  's   Messages   and   Proclamations   of   the   Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  II,  pp.  319-358. 

447  Iowa  City  Republican,  January  20,  1864. 

448  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  839. 

CHAPTER  XXV 

449  Letter  to  Dr.  C.  S.  Clarke  of  Fairfield,  March  9,  1862.— 
Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  3,  p.  179. 

4->o  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  4,  pp.  190,  192. 
4.-i  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  2,  p.  486. 

452  Letter  to  Mrs.  Harriett  N.  Kellogg  of  Garden  Grove, 
March  28,  1863. —  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  pp. 
239,  240. 

4.-.S  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  pp.  86-89. 

4-4  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  pp.  207-210.  See 
also  pp.  229-234. 


436  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

4-r.5  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  2,  p.  151.  See  also 
pp.  214,  215. 

4  •'•<•>  Lathrop  's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
pp.  283-286;  Iowa  City  Republican,  February  4,  1863,  and  suc 
ceeding  issues. 

*."  Letter  to  \V.  C.  Kirkwood,  March  23,  1863.—  Kirkwood 
Military  Letter  Bool;  No.  6,  p.  209. 

«s  Mrs.  Kirkwood  gave  the  author  the  facts  upon  which  this 
brief  characterization  of  the  Governor's  personal  life  during 
the  war  is  based. 

*59  Iowa  City  Republican,  January  21,  1863.  See  also  the 
same  paper  for  December  9,  1863.  Mrs.  Kirkwood  confirmed 
these  accounts  of  the  difficulties  of  travel  from  Iowa  City  to 
Des  Moines. 

400  A  glance  through  the  seven  large  military  letter  books,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  mass  of  papers  in  the  Archives  at  Des 
Moines,  will  give  some  idea  of  the  amount  of  writing  which  the 
Governor  performed  during  these  strenuous  years. 

461  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  6,  p.  98. 

462  Letter  to  Laurin  Dewey,  July  7,  1863. —  Kirkwood  Mili 
tary  Letter  Book,  No.  7,  p.  31. 

463  Kirkwood  Military  Letter  Book,  No.  7,  p.  383. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

464  The  facts  concerning  the  building  of  the  house  were  re 
lated  to  the  writer  by  Mrs.  Kirkwood,  who  stated  that  she  was 
never  quite  contented  until  they  moved  into  this  home  of  their 
own.     There  she  still  lives  to-day.     The  street  which  runs  in 
front  of  the  house  is  known  as  Kirkwood  Avenue. 

465  The  card  of  this  law  firm  first  appeared  in  the  Iowa  City 
Republican,  May  17,  1865. 

466  Iowa  City  Republican,  March  23,  30,  1864. 

467  Iowa  City  Republican,  February  17,  May  18,  August  31, 
1864. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  437 

468  KirTcwood  Correspondence,  No.  949. 

469  Iowa  City  Republican,  September  14,  October  12,  19,  26, 
1864.     A  copy   of   this   oration,  in   pamphlet   form,   is  in   the 
library  of  The  State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa. 

470  See  letter  from  Jacob  Rich,  June  27,  1864. —  KirTcwood 
Correspondence,  No.  945. 

471  For  a  more  extended  account  of  the  senatorial  contest  of 
1865-1866  than  is  given  in  these  pages  see  Clark's  History  of 
Senatorial  Elections  in  Iowa,  Ch.  VIII.     See  also  Brigham's 
James  Harlan,  Ch.  XX. 

472  Letter  from  Jacob  Eich,  March  12,  1865. —  KirTcwood  Cor 
respondence,  No.  958. 

473  Aldrich's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Azro  B.  F.  Hildreth,  pp. 
393-395. 

474  KirTcwood  Correspondence,  No.  960. 

475  KirTcwood  Correspondence,  No.  979. 

476  Letters  from  Marcellus  M.  Crocker,  June  9  and  23,  1865. 
—  KirTcwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  981,  &86. 

477  Correspondence   of   William  Penn   ClarTce,   Vol.    Ill,   Xo. 
127,  Historical  Department,  Des  Moines. 

478  Letter  from  Azro  B.  F.  Hildreth,  April  1,  1865. —  KirTc 
wood  Correspondence,  No.  961. 

479  KirTcwood  Correspondence,  No.  963. 

480  KirTcwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  987,  990,  1059. 

481  KirTcwood  Correspondence,  No.  1019. 

482  KirTcwood   Correspondence,   No.    1024.      Grimes   was   even 
more  emphatic  in  other  letters.     The  relations  between  Grimes 
and  Kirkwood  on  the  one  hand,  and  Harlan  on  the  other,  were 
never  quite  friendly  after  this  time. 

For  a  letter  from  Harlan  to  Kirkwood  in  July,  1865,  prac 
tically  promising  his  support  to  Kirkwood,  see  KirTcwood  Cor 
respondence,  No.  995. 


438  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

483  Kirlicood  Correspondence,  No.  1031. 

4*4  Kirk-wood  Correspondence,  Nos.  1106,  1109,  1114. 

-»*•-•  The  Weekly  Gate  City  (Keoktik),  January  9,  I860. 

4*'!  Iowa  City  Republican,  January  17,  1866. 

4S7  Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1866,  pp.  64-60. 

48$  Congressional   Directory,   1st   Session,   39th   Congress,   pp. 
49,  68. 

-<*'•>  Congressional  Glol)C,  1st  Session,  39th  Congress,  pp.  332. 
390. 

400  Congressional  Globe,  1st  Session,  39th  Congress,  p.  767. 
4'-'i  Congressional  Globe,  1st  Session,  39th  Congress,  p.  2735. 

492  See  Congressional  Globe,   1st  Session,  39th  Congress,  pp. 
32.16,  3264,  3265,  3479,  3480. 

4 '•'•''  Congressional  Globe,  1st  Session,  39th  Congress,  p.  3312. 
494  Kirku'ood  Correspondence,  Nos.  1177,  1199. 
4iir,  KirJcwood  Correspondence,  No.  1293. 

490  Congressional  Directory,  2nd  Session,  39th  Congress,  p.  77. 
The  truth  of  these  statements  was  confirmed  by  Mrs.  Kirkwood. 

49"  See  Congressional  Globe,  2nd  Session,  39th  Congress,  pp. 
198,  220,  334. 

4f»8  gee  Congressional  Globe,  2nd  Session,  39th  Congress,  pp. 
1820-1823,  1828. 

4oo  See  Congressional  Globe,  2nd  Session,  39th  Congress,  pp. 
703,  873,  1927. 

•"'00  Congressional  Globe,  2nd  Session,  39th  Congress,  p.  198. 
•">(|i  Kirh'tt'ood  Correspondence,  Nos.  1339,  1345. 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

r,o2  Joira  City  Republican,  September  25,  1867,  September  30, 
October  28,  November  4,  1868. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  439 

sos  Iowa  City  Eepublican,  March  11,  18,  1868. 

504  History  of  Johnson  County,  Iowa  (1883),  p.  422. 

505  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1437. 

5oe  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1446.  Mr.  Kirkwood  was 
also  a  delegate  to  a  similar  convention  at  Cincinnati  one  year 
later.  See  Clark's  The  Bid  of  the  West  for  the  National  Cap 
ital  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  Historical  As 
sociation,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  235,  270. 

507  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1430. 

508  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1432. 

509  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  1441,  1445. 

510  Kirkwood    Correspondence,    No.    2035.      This    letter    was 
written  on  July  7,  1876. 

511  Iowa  City  Eepublican,  January  26,  1870.     In  the  spring 
of  1871  Kirkwood  took  S.  M.  Finch  into  partnership. —  Iowa 
City  Eepublican,  April  19,  1871. 

512  Iowa  City  Eepublican,  December  8,  1869. 

513  Iowa  City  Eepublican,  April  27,  1870. 

514  Iowa  City  Eepublican,  May  4,  11,  1870.    The  other  officers 
were:  C.  T.  Eansom,  vice  president;  and  S.  Sharpless,  secretary- 
treasurer. 

sis  Iowa  City  Eepublican,  December  14,  1870. 
sie  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1523. 

517  Jowa   City  Eepublican,  May   10,   October   11,   1871;    and 
Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1540. 

518  It  would  be  useless  to  go  into  the  details  of  the  history  of 
this  railroad  project.     Besides,  the  materials  are  so   fragmen 
tary  that  a  complete  account  could  scarcely  be  written  without 
a  comprehensive  study  of  railroad  building  in  Iowa  during  the 
period  in  question. 

Materials  may  be  found  in  the  Kirkwood  Correspondence;  in 
a  private  letter  book  containing  copies  of  letters  written  by 


440  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

Mr.  Kirkwood,  now  in  the  possession  of  The  State  Historical 
Society  of  Iowa;  and  in  the  newspapers  of  Iowa  City  and  other 
towns  along  the  route  of  the  proposed  road.  See  also  Anrner's 
Leading  Events  in  Johnson  County  History,  Vol.  I,  pp.  229, 
232.  In  the  absence  of  data,  it  is  not  possible  to  state  the 
effect  of  this  venture  on  Mr.  Kirkwood 's  financial  condition. 
It  is  safe  to  assume  that  he  was  not  made  any  richer  except  in 
experience. 

The  coal  mine  apparently  was  more  successful  than  the  rail 
road.  It  was  located  at  Coalfield  in  Monroe  County. —  See 
Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  1557,  1599-1608. 

siv  Kirk  wood  Correspondence,  No.  1520. 

"20  Iowa  City  Republican,  June  28,  October  4,  18,  1871. 

521  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  1539,  1542,  1547,  1553. 

522  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  1620-1623,  1625. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

523  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1632. 

524  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1637. 

52.-  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  1628,  1629,  1641. 
520  Iowa  City  Republican,  May  12,  19,  1875. 

r>27  For  a  good  discussion  of  the  situation  see  Clarkson's  The 
Stampede  from  General  Weaver  in  the  Republican  Convention 
of  1'875  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  X,  pp.  561- 
569. 

528  This  account  of  the  convention  is  based  on,  and  the  quo 
tations   are   taken   from,   the   descriptions    in   the    Weekly  Iowa 
State  Register   (Des  Moines),  July  2,  1875;   loir  a  City  Repub 
lican,  July  7,  1875;  and  Clarkson 's  The  Stampede  from  General 
Weaver  in  the  Republican  Convention  of  1875  in  the  Annals  of 
Iowa   (Third  Series),  Vol.  X,  pp.  5(55,  566. 

529  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  1651,  1656,  1658,  16(54. 

530  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.    16(53;    and   Iowa  City  Re 
publican,  July  7,  1875. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  441 

531  See  Clarkson  's  The  Stampede  from  General  Weaver  in  the 
Republican  Convention  of  1875  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third 
Series),  Vol.  X,  p.  566. 

532  Weekly  Iowa  State  Register    (Des   Moines),   August   27, 
1875. 

533  According    to     the    official    canvass    Kirkwood    received 
124,801   votes  and  Leffler,   93,270.—  Journal  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  1876,  p.  16. 

534  Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1876,  pp.  24,  25. 

535  Shambaugh  's   Messages   and   Proclamations   of   the   Gov 
ernors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  285-304. 

SSG  Governor  Kirkwood  took  a  great  interest  in  seeing  to  it 
that  Iowa  was  well  represented  by  exhibits  at  the  Centennial 
Exposition  at  Philadelphia.  For  instance,  see  Shambaugh 's 
Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Governors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  IV, 
pp.  306,  307,  310-313. 

The  conditional  pardon  of  a  convict  by  the  name  of  R.  D. 
Arthur  led  to  a  lawsuit  in  which  the  Governor  was  finally 
upheld  by  the  Supreme  Court. —  Arthur  v.  Craig,  48  Iowa  264. 

537  Executive   Journal,   1872-1873,   p.    443,   Public   Archives, 
Des  Moines. 

CHAPTER  XXIX 

538  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1699. 

539  Kirlcwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  1811,  1817,  1879,  1911. 

540  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1926. 

541  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1805. 

542  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1694. 

543  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  1750. 

544  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  1949,  1958. 

545  The  Iowa  Daily  State  Register  (Des  Moines),  January  12, 
13,  1876. 


442  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

•"••»«  Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  1876,  pp.  47,  48. 
Fur  a  more  complete  account  of  this  senatorial  contest  see 
Clark's  History  of  Senatorial  Elections  in  Iowa,  Ch.  XI. 

r>|7  Kirkirood  Correspondence,  No.  2025. 

">^  lou-n  City  Republican,  January  19,  1876. 

••••*'•'  Congressional  Directory,  1877-1881. 

••'^Conf/rcntiional  Record,  1st  Session,  46th  Congress,  pp. 
2213-2217. 

•"•"il  Congressional  Record,  1st  Session,  46th  Congress,  pp.  2217, 
2219. 

•"••"-  Kirkicood  Correspondence,  No.  2091. 

•"•-•«  Congressional  Record,  2nd  Session,  45th  Congress,  pp. 
1642,  3570,  4588;  3rd  Session,  45th  Congress,  p.  2035;  1st 
Session,  46th  Congress,  pp.  1945,  1946,  1947;  3rd  Session,  46th 
Congress,  pp.  1291-1297. 

«"'•*  Congressional  Record,  2nd  Session,  45th  Congress,  pp. 
4547,  4548;  1st  Session,  46th  Congress,  pp.  2403,  2404. 

r. .-,.-,  Congressional  Record,  3rd  Session,  46th  Congress,  pp. 
159.1,  1698,  1705,  1750-1752. 

•"'•"°  Congressional  Record,  2nd  Session,  46th  Congress,  pp. 
3916,  4111-4113. 

•"•""  Congressional  Record,  1st  Session,  46th  Congress,  pp. 
1629,  1630;  3rd  Session,  46th  Congress,  pp.  1835-1838. 

•"•a  Congressional  Record,  2nd  Session,  46th  Congress,  pp. 
21M5,  2189-2191,  2197,  2198;  3rd  Session,  46th  Congress,  pp. 
1030,  1031,  1093-1095.  These  are  only  a  few  of  the  subjects 
on  which  Senator  Kirkwood  spoke  during  the  debates  in  the 
Senate,  but  they  are  the  subjects  in  which  he  showed  the 
greatest  interest. 

•"•">'•'  This  paragraph  is  based  on  statements  made  to  the  writer 
by  Mrs.  Kirkwood.  Many  invitations  to  public  functions, 
social  and  otherwise,  are  to  be  found  in  the  Kirkwood  Cor 
respondence. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  443 

seoLathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
pp.  376,  377. 

SGI  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  pp.  2120-2155,  etc. 

CHAPTER  XXX 

562  Kirkwood    Correspondence,    No.    2180;    The    Washington 
Post  (Washington,  D.  C.),  March  2,  1881. 

563  Newspaper   clipping    in    small    scrapbook,    kept   by    Mrs. 
Kirkwood,  now  in  the  possession  of  The  State  Historical  Soci 
ety  of  Iowa,  p.  3. 

™*  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  2189,  2190,  2203. 
BOS  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  2201. 

see  The    Washington   Post,    March    8,    9,    1881;    clippings   in 
small  scrapbook,  p.  17. 

5*57  Private  Letter  Book  of  Secretary  Kirkwood,  No.  1,  p.  44, 
in  the  possession  of  The  State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa. 

5<>8  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  2202. 

509  See  Private  Letter  Book  of  Secretary  Kirkwood,  No.  1, 
p.  467. 

570  This  list  was  compiled  by  the  writer  from  the  Register  of 
the  Department  of  the,  Interior  Corrected  to  October  10,  1881, 
in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  in  Washington. 

571  Newspaper  clipping  in  small  scrapbook,  p.  20. 

572  The  Washington  Post,  March  10,  11,  14,  1881. 

573  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  2218. 

•'•74  Private  Letter  Book  of  Secretary  Kirkwood,  No.  1,  p.  289. 

575  Orders,  Circulars,  etc.,  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  p.  351. 

570  Orders,  Circulars,  etc.,  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  p.  363. 

577  Eeport  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  1881,  Vol.  I,  pp. 


444  SAMUEL  J.  KIRKWOOD 

578  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.   2237.     See  also  letter  to 
Edward  W.  Bok. —  Private  Letter  Book  of  Secretary  Kirkwood, 
No.  2,  p.  10. 

579  Kirku'ood    Correspondence,    Xo.    2240.      For    letters    con 
cerning   the    leasing   of   this   house,    which   was   No.    223    East 
Capitol   St.,   see  Private   Letter  Book  of  Secretary  Kirkwood, 
No.  2,  pp.  13,  18,  36,  38. 

sso  Pr ivate  Letter  Book  of  Secretary  Kirkwood,  No.  2,  p.  29; 
clipping  in  small  scrapbook,  p.  18;  clipping  in  large  scrapbook, 
p.  27. 

5si  The  Washington  Post,  April  16,  17,  1882. 

CHAPTER  XXXI 

582  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  2260. 

sss  La'throp  's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
pp.  382,  416;  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  2265-2298. 

584  See  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  2341-2350. 
sss  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  2345. 

586  Kirku-ood   Correspondence,   No.    2333.      By   the   time   Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Kirkwood  started  on  their  trip  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  had  been  completed,  and  so  they  went  over  that  line 
from  St.  Paul  to  Tacoma,  and  returned  over  the  Union  Pacific 
from  San  Francisco. 

587  Lathrop's  The  Life  and   Times   of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
pp.  417-419. 

r,88  A  number  of  these  speeches  are  printed  in  Lathrop 's  The 
Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  Ch.  XIX. 

580  Iowa  City  T)aily  fir  publican,  August  20,  1886. 
5!>o  Kirkwood  Correspondence,   No.   2407. 

5!u  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  2399,  2413,  2423. 

502  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  2413  (there  are  several 
letters  under  this  number). 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  445 

593Lathrop's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  p. 
429.  The  letter  of  acceptance  is  here  printed  in  full. 

594  gee   Kirkwood   Correspondence,    No.    2421.      Mr.    Joe   E. 
Lane  of  Davenport  was  the  manager  of  Kirkwood 's  campaign. 

595  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Nos.  2424,  2435. 

596  Hayes  received  15,279  votes;  O'Meara,  8,602;  and  Kirk- 
wood,   8,009. —  Lathrop's    The  Life   and   Times   of  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood,  p.  440. 

CHAPTEE  XXXII 

597  Iowa  Historical  Eecord,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  87,  88. 

598  See  letter  in  the  Annals  of  Iowa  (Third  Series),  Vol.  IVr 
pp.  475,  476. 

599  KirTcwood  Correspondence,  No.  2440. 
eoo  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  2469. 

eoi  The  following  description  of  the  gathering  in  honor  of 
Mr.  Kirkwood,  together  with  the  extracts  from  speeches  and 
letters,  is  taken  from  the  account  written  by  Mr.  John  Springer, 
then  editor  of  the  Iowa  City  Press,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
party.  The  account  is  reprinted  in  full  in  Lathrop's  The 
Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J,  Kirkwood,  pp.  447-460.  A  cut  of 
the  photograph  taken  at  this  time  is  printed  in  Aurner's  Lead 
ing  Events  in  Johnson  County  History,  p.  622. 

602  This  letter  from  David  B.  Henderson  was  received  later. 

—  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  Miscellaneous,  No.  77. 

eos  Lathrop  's  The  Life  and  Times  of  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood, 
Ch.  XXIII;  and  accounts  in  the  Des  Moines  newspapers. 

It  should  also  be  noted  that  there  is  a  bronze  statue  of 
Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  in  the  Hall  of  Fame  in  the  capitol  build 
ing  at  Washington,  D.  C.  It  is  the  work  of  an  Iowa  sculptress 

—  Vinnie  Beam  Hoxie. 

604  Kirkwood  Correspondence,  No.  839. 


INDEX 


447 


INDEX 


Accountability,    need    of,    222 

Accounts,    examination    of,    54 

Adjutant  General,  service  of  Baker 
as,  212;  need  of  assistance  to, 
236 

Agricultural  College,  147;  meeting 
of  Trustees  of,  171,  172; 
chairman  of  Board  of  Trustees 
of,  327 

Agricultural    exhibits,     172 

Agricultural    professorship,    109 

Agriculture,  interest  of  Kirkwood 
in,  170,  171;  reference  to,  223 

Aids,    appointment  of.    211,   212 

Albia,    joint    debate    at,    136 

Aldrich,  Charles,  124,  179,  227, 
382 

Alexander,  Mary,  391 

Alexandria,    13 

Allen,  I.  J.,  letter  from,   360 

Allison,  William  B.,  first  political 
service  of,  127;  reference  to, 
179,  211,  328,  349.  377;  letter 
from,  198,  280,  327,  342,  343; 
letter  to,  293;  service  of  Kirk- 
wood  to,  302,  303 ;  movement 
in  favor  of,  307;  campaign  of, 
against  Harlan,  326;  fear  of 
opposition  of,  342 

Altoona  (Pennsylvania),  meeting 
of  loyal  Governors  at,  247-252. 
293 

Amin  Bey,    70 

Amusements,     38 

Anamosa,   141,  408 

Anderson,   Senator,    146 

Andre,   John,    150 

Andrew,  John  A.,  address  written 
by,  248,  249 

Animal  husbandry,  bureau  of,  356 

Antietam,  battle  of,  248 

Appointments,  making  of,  210-215, 
264;  applications  for,  362 

Appropriations,    147,    148 

Arkansas  Post,  battle  of,  297,  298 

Armentrout,  Abram,  employment 
of  Kirkwood  by,  24,  25 

Arms,  difficulty  in  securing,  for 
troops,  186-188,  206-209;  need 
for,  on  frontier,  258,  259;  need 
for  protection  of,  265 

Army,    appointments    in,    212-215; 

30 


efforts  to   secure  promotions   in, 

241-243 
Army     appropriation     bill,     speech 

on,    350-355 

Army  clothing,  speculation  in,  336 
Army  of   Potomac,    249,   250 
Arnold,    Benedict,    176 
Art   Union,    66 
Arthur,    Chester   A.,    368 
Arthur,    R.    D.,    pardon    of,    441 
Assassination,     attempts     at,     276- 

278 

Assault   and   battery,    70 
Assistants,   choice  of,   210-212 
Auditor   of   State,   report   of,    220 
Audubon  County,   331,   332 
Autobiography,    379 
Autograph  album,   9,   23,   24 

Babbitt,  L.  W.,   410 

Bacon,  John  H.,    139 

Bailey,    Gideon    S.,    108 

Baker,    Elihu,    410 

Baker,  Nathaniel  B.,  199,  212, 
231,  239,  265,  273,  334;  ser 
vice  of,  as  Adjutant  General, 
212;  letter  from,  240,  307 

Baldwin,  Caleb,  224,  259,  341; 
letter  to,  265 ;  letter  from,  342 

Ballard,  S.  M.,  nomination  of 
Kirkwood  by,  331,  332,  333 

Ballot  box,  protection  of,  146,   147 

Baltimore,    1,    11,    13,   247 

Bank,  president  of,  371  (see  also 
State  Bank) 

Bank   notes,    117,    222 

Banking,  49 ;  views  of  Kirkwood 
on,  71,  72 

Banks,    Committee   on,    109 

Bar,  admission  of  Kirkwood  to, 
30,  31 

Barker,  Frank,  friendship  be 
tween  Kirkwood  and,  30,  31, 
43 ;  reference  to,  32 ;  murder 
of,  41,  42 

Barker,  Margaretta,  friendship  of 
Mrs.  Kirkwood  and,  43 ;  refer 
ence  to,  46 

Earner,    Mr.,    265 

Bartley,   Mordecai.    395,   396 

Bartley,  Thomas  W.,  Kirkwood  in 
office  of,  27-31;  partnership  of 

449 


450 


INDEX 


Kirkwood  and,  32  ;  work  left  to 
Kirkwood  by,  35,  36;  service 
of,  as  acting  Governor,  39;  ref 
erence  to.  4.'5.  85,  300,  396: 
election  of,  as  Supreme  Court 
Judge,  75;  career  of,  395 

Bates,    Edward   X.,    108 

Belknap,    William    W.,    108,    345 

Bennett,  J.  C.,  letter  from,  175. 
17(5 

Benton    Barracks,    206,    240,    241 

Big;    Crossings,    15 

Bigelow,  William  IT.,  letter  from, 
145 

Blacksmith,  work  of  Jabez  Kirk 
wood  as,  3 

Blaine,    James    G.,    349 

Blair,    Frank   P.,    145 

Blind.   Asylum   for,   97,   147 

Block-houses,  building  of,  260,  261 

Bloomfield,   joint   debate   at,    136 

Bloom  field   Clarion,    133 

Bolton.    Mr..    172 

Bonds,  provision  for  sale  of,  194; 
failure  of  people  to  purchase, 
204;  difficulty  in  selling,  207- 
210.  222;  sale  of,  to  people,  355 

Booth,    C.    H..    410 

Borders  of  State,  need  for  pro 
tection  of,  191;  defense  of,  253- 
261 

Boston  Post,   209,    210 

Bounties,    payment   of,    236 

Bowen,    Jesse,    resignation    of,    212 

Bowland,    Margaretta,    42 

Bowland,  Robert  M.,  trial  of.  for 
murder,  41-46 

Braddock,    General,    grave   of,    15 

Braddock's   Road,    13 

Bradley.    P.    B.,    108 

Brainerd.  Nathan  Hoit,  service  of, 
as  military  secretary,  210,211: 
letter  by.  213,  241:  reference 
to.  322.  382 

Bridgeport    (Ohio),    17 

Brigadier  General,  efforts  to  se 
cure  appointments  as,  241,  242 

Brigham,   David  T.,   93 

Brinkerhoff,    Jacob,    28,    360 

Brown,  John,  attitude  of  Kirk 
wood  toward  raid  by.  148-150; 
part  of  Coppoc  in  raid  of,  155, 
156 

Brownsville    (Pennsylvania),    15 

Buchanan,    James,    174 

Burlington,    132,    142,    188,    321 

Burlington.  Cedar  Rapids  &  North 
ern  Railroad  Company,  325 

Burlington    Rifles,    176 

Burns,  Barnabas,  friendship  be- 
twoen  Kirkwood  and,  28,  29: 
partnership  of  Kirkwood  and. 


75 :  reference  to,  78,  395 :  let 
ter  from,  360 

Burnside,    General,    293 

Bussey,    Cyrus,    211,    254 

Byington,  Le  Grand,  controversy 
between  Kirkwood  and,  167- 
170 

Cabinet,  service  of  Kirkwood  in, 
359-370 

Cadiz    (Ohio).    17 

Cahill,     Richard    W.,    52 

Cairo    (Illinois).    239 

California,    trip    to,    373 

Camden,   battle  of,    2 

Cameron.  Simon,  letter  to,  182. 
207 

Camp,    C.,    155,    156,    157 

Camp  of  instruction,   236 

Campaign,  direction  of.  100;  de 
scription  of  early,  102,  103; 
description  of,  for  Governor, 
123-143,  338.  339:  part  of 
Kirkwood  in.  314:  use  of  mon 
ey  in.  344.  345:  last  participa 
tion  of  Kirkwood  in,  374-378 

Camps,   visits  of  Kirkwood  to,   239 

Canals,    48 

Capital.    97:    plan   to   remove.    319 

Capital   City   Band.    339 

Capitol  building  (Ohio),  descrip 
tion  of.  50 

Carpenter,   Cyrus   C.,    108.    336 

Cattell,   J.   W.,   91 

Cattle,   raising  of.    83.    84.    162 

Cattle  disease,  protection  against. 
171 

Caucus,  nomination  by,  310,  346. 
347 

Cedar   County,    155,    323 

Cedar   Rapids,    116,    121.    142 

Centennial  Exposition.  337.  338. 
441 

Central  America.   145.    150 

Chain    Lakes.    261 

Chambers.   Alexander,    214 

Champaign   Countv    (Ohio),    50 

Chariton.   joint   debate  at.    136,  137 

Charles.   John   IT.,   138 

Charters.    70 

Chase.  Salmon  P.,  attitude  of 
Kirkwood  toward,  165 

Cherokee.    261 

Cherokee    County,    163 

Chesapeake   Bav,    1 

Chicago.  77,  80.  121,  162,  188. 
324:  emigration  through,  79: 
convention  at.  164-166 

Chicaeo,  Iowa  and  Nebraska  Rail 
road,  121 

Chicatro  and  Rock  Island  Rail 
road.  165 


INDEX 


451 


Chicago  Tribune,  209 

Chipman,   N.   P.,  letter  from,   274 

Cholera,  adjournment  of  conven 
tion  because  of,  63,  64 

Church,  interest  of  Kirkwood  in 
work  of,  38 

Churches,    taxation   of,    69 

Cincinnati  (Ohio),  31,  400; 
choice  of,  for  holding  of  conven 
tion,  63,  64;  constitutional  con 
vention  at,  65-74;  impressions 
of,  by  Kirkwood,  65-67 ;  con 
vention  at,  439 

Cincinnati   College,    67 

Circulating  medium,  scarcity  of, 
117;  supplying  of,  118 

Civil  service,   reforms   in,   370 

Civil  War,  first  call  for  troops  in, 
179,  180;  activities  of  Kirk 
wood  as  Governor  during,  181- 
300 

Clark,  Ezekiel,  birth  of,  34;  ref 
erence  to,  77,  120,  404,  410; 
Kirkwood  urged  to  come  West 
by,  78 ;  history  of  mill  owned 
by,  82;  letter  from,  162,  196; 
money  advanced  by.  185,  203 

Clark,   Ichabod,   33,   34 

Clark,  Jane,  birth  of,  34;  first 
meeting  of  Kirkwood  and,  35: 
marriage  of  Kirkwood  and,  37 
(see  also  Kirkwood,  Mrs.) 

Clark,  John,  friendship  between 
Kirkwood  and,  30;  birth  of,  34: 
visit  of  Kirkwood  at  home  of, 
34,  35;  visit  of,  to  Iowa  City. 
77,  78;  reference  to,  78,  80 

Clark,    Lincoln,    108 

Clark,    Rush,    211,    227 

Clark,  Samuel  Kirkwood,  letter  to, 
153,  154:  death  of,  297,  298 

Clarke,  William  Penn,  100,  104, 
306,  408.  418 

Clarkson.    James   S.,    334 

Clarksville.   82    (see  Coralville) 

Clay,  Cassius  M.,  lecture  by,  66 

Clayton   County,    199 

Cleveland    (Ohio),   21,    26 

Clearing  of  land.  21 

Clinton,    324,   325 

Clinton    County,    323,    374 

Close.    M.    T.,    324 

Clothing,    appeal   for,    235 

Coal  mine.   325 

College  Hall.    67 

Columbus  (Ohio).  17.  21.  26,  31, 
65,  400;  constitutional  conven 
tion  at,  47-64;  attractions  of. 
62,  63 

Columbus   City,    183 

Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs. 
363 


Committees,  membership  of  Kirk 
wood  on,  53,  94,  109,  349 

Companies,  acceptance  of,  196, 
199 

Compromise,  attitude  of  Kirkwood 
toward,  175 

Compromise   of    1850,    174,    175 

Concord  stage,   105 

Confederates,  exchange  of  prison 
ers  with,  239;  invasion  of 
Maryland  by,  247;  defeat  of, 
248 ;  sympathizers  with,  in 
Iowa,  262-278 

Congress,  Kirkwood  urged  to  be 
candidate  for,  101,  102;  sug 
gestions  for  memorials  to,  150; 
letter  to  delegation  in,  174,  175; 
validity  of  laws  of,  351 

Conkling,    Roscoe,    349,    355 

Connecticut,  letter  to  Governor  of, 
187 

Connelly.   Edward,   119 

Conscription,  preparations  for, 
233,  234;  lack  of  necessity  for. 
234;  threats  of  resistance  to, 
263-270 

Constitution   of   Iowa,    1846,    117 

Constitution  of  Iowa,  1857,  pro 
visions  of,  concerning  banking, 
118;  reference  to,  407 

Constitution  of  Ohio,  character  of, 
73;  reference  to,  396;  reasons 
for  revision  of.  398 

Constitution  of  United   States,   350 

Constitutional  Convention  of  Iowa, 
1857,  98 

Constitutional  Convention  of  Ohio, 
service  of  Kirkwood  in,  47-74 

Contingent  fund,  provision  for, 
194;  use  of,  238 

Coolbaugh,    William   F.,    91 

Copperheads,  difficulty  with,  in 
Iowa,  262-278 

Coppoc.  Barclay,  controversy  over 
rendition  of,  155-162 

Coppoc,    Edwin,    156 

Coralville,  location  of  Kirkwoods 
at,  82  :  friends  of  Kirkwoods  in, 
85;  mill  dam  at,  91;  reference 
to,  105,  137,  162,  180,  301; 
burning  of  house  at,  404 

Corinth,    battle   of,    244 

Corn,   raising  of,   83 

Cornell  College,  visiting  commit 
tee  of,  172 

Corporate    powers,    56 

Corporations,  abuses  in  laws  con 
cerning.  49:  liability  of  indi 
viduals  in.  56-58;  taxation  of. 
68:  franchises  of.  70 

Correctionvillp.    261 

Correspondence,   neglect  of.   363 


452 


INDEX 


Corwin,  Thomas,  story  concerning, 

40,  41 

Cosmopolitan  Art  Association,   172 
Coulson,   Mary,   2,   5 
Coulson,    Miss,    5 

Council  Bluffs,  138,   196,  257,  258 
Counties,    discrimination    between, 

233 

County  fairs,    172 
County   judges,    144,    171 
County  officials,   222 
Court  of  Claims,    111 
Courts,    61 
Cox,    Thomas   J.,    store  bought   by, 

120 

Crawford   County    (Ohio),    52 
Credits,   taxation   of,    68 
Crocker,   Marcellus  M.,  241;  letter 

to,    242,    281,    285;    letter   from, 

280,   281,    306 
Crops,    harvesting  of,    231 
Crum   family,    85 
Cuba,  expedition  to,   148,    149 
Cumberland    (Maryland),    13,    15 
Cumberland      Road,       journey      of 

Kirkwoods  over,   11-18 
Currency,    views   of   Kirkwood   on, 

72,    73,   355 
Curtin,  Andrew  G.,  call  issued  by, 

247,    248 
Curtis,   Samuel  R.,   127,   258,  274, 

308 

Dancing,    38 

Dart,  William   S.,   410 

Davenport,  78,  81,  129,  141,  180, 
273.  374,  408,  410;  speech  by 
Kirkwood  at,  131,  181,  182, 
201,  377 

Davis,    Jefferson,    269 

Davis,    Timothy,    125 

Dawes,   Henry  L.,   349 

Day,   James  G.,   372 

Day.    M.,    406 

Deaf  and  Dumb,  Asylum  for,  97, 
137,  418 

Dean,   Henry  Clay,    171 

Decatur   County,    265 

Decorah,    142 

Delano,    Columbus,   44,    397 

Delinquent   taxes,    426 

Democratic  party,  Kirkwood  a 
member  of,  39-41;  dissatisfac 
tion  of  Kirkwood  with,  76,  77; 
division  in,  200 

Denmark     (Towa),    172 

Denmark,  letter  from,  226,  227; 
appointment  of  Kirkwood  as 
Minister  to,  279-283 

Dennis   family,    85 

Deputy  assessor,  employment  of 
Kirkwood  as,  24,  25 


Des  Moines,  78,  145,  172,  189, 
220,  285,  289,  298,  306,  308, 
314,  318,  331,  334,  339,  344, 
345,  386,  410;  route  to,  in  early 
days,  105;  description  of,  in 
1858,  106,  107;  receptions  at, 
113;  convention  at,  125,  197, 
199;  Republican  rally  at,  167; 
speech  at,  200-205,  336;  trip 
from  Iowa  City  to,  299;  mail 
service  for,  409 

Des    Moines    House,    228 

Des  Moines  Rapids,  canal  around, 
315 

Des  Moines  River  Lands,   171 

Dewey,  J.  N.,  letter  from,  309, 
344;  letter  to,  330;  reference 
to,  341 

Dewey,    Laurin,    108,    199 

Dey,    Peter   A.,    382 

Discharge   of    soldiers,    238 

Disloyalty   in   Iowa,    262-278 

Distillery,   336 

District  courts,   61 

Dodge,  Augustus  Caesar,  nomina 
tion  of,  for  Governor,  128;  cam 
paign  between  Kirkwood  and, 
128-143;  defeat  of,  143;  refer 
ence  to,  339.  371 

Dodge,  Grenville  M.,  138,  241, 
242,  326;  letter  to,  244;  letter 
from,  380,  381 

Doolittle,  James  R.,  letter  from, 
145 

Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  opposition  of 
Kirkwood  to  bill  of,  76,  77;  ref 
erence  to,  81;  effect  of  bill  of, 
86 

Draft,  possibility  of  need  of,  232- 
234;  threats  of  resistance  to, 
263-270;  method  of  dealing 
with  resistance  to,  286.  287 

Draft  commissioners,  instructions 
to,  233,  234 

Dred  Scott  Decision,  resolution 
relative  to,  111,  112 

Dress,  carelessness  of  Kirkwood 
in,  131,  132 

Drug  clerk,  employment  of  Kirk 
wood  as,  7-9 

Drummond,  Thomas,  108;  letter 
from,  124 

Dubuque,  141,  362;  military  com 
pany  at.  176,  177;  speech  at, 
286i  287 

Duncombe,  John  F.,  story  concern 
ing.  84.  85:  reference  to,  404 

Dunlavy,    Henrv,    letter   from,    313 

Dutton,   John   W.,    410 

Ends,  James  D..   defalcation  of,  96 
East,   trips  to,   298 


INDEX 


453 


Eastman,  Enoch  W.,  letter  to,  188 

Economy,   need  of,    147,    222,   226 

Edginton,    Edward  T.,   410 

Edmonds,  James  B.,  324 

Edmonds   &  Ransom,    119 

Edmunds,    George  P.,   355 

Education,  interest  of  Kirkwood 
in,  96,  97;  part  of  Kirkwood  in 
law  concerning,  110 

Education,  State  Board  of,  146, 
407 

Edwards,  John,  offer  of,  to  re 
sign,  189;  reference  to,  211, 
254,  255;  trouble  over  appoint 
ment  of,  214,  215 

Eighth  General  Assembly,  inaugu 
ration  of  Kirkwood  by,  145, 
146;  adjournment  of,  163 

Eldora,    142 

Elections,  suggestions  relative  to, 
146,  147;  law  giving  soldiers 
right  to  vote  at,  236,  237;  use 
of  money  at,  350-355 

Electors,  disqualifications  of,   56 

Elliott,    M.   L.,   241 

Elmira,   325 

Emancipation  Proclamation,  248, 
250 

Emigration,    79,    80,    403 

Eminent  domain,   right  of,   58 

Emmet   County,    261 

England,    attitude  toward,    228 

Enlistment,    term    of,    231 

Equipment,  difficulty  in  securing, 
for  troops,  186-188,  206-209, 
232 

Erie  and  Ohio  Canal,   20,   26 

Estherville,    261 

Evidence,   bill   relating  to,    97 

Ewing,    Thomas,    44,    397 

Exchange  of  prisoners,    239-241 

Exemption  from  taxation,    68,    69 

Extradition    case,     155-162 

Fairall,    Samuel  H.,   326,   382 
Fairfield,    W.    B.,    331,    333 
Fairfield,    141,    263,    274 
Farm,    profits    made    on,    83,    84; 

reference   to,    301 
Farm  machinery,  tax  on,   312,  313 
Farmer,  work  of  Kirkwood  as,  81- 

85 

Farming,    attitude  toward,   25 
Farnam,   Henry,  letter  from,    165 
Farwell,    S.  S.,   382 
Favoritism,    charges   of,    196,    199 
Federal     government,     relation     of 
States   to,    150;    support    of,    by 
Iowa,   193  ;  taxes  in  support  of, 
222 ;    power    of,    to    use    army. 
350-355;  efforts  to  weaken,  353 
Federal    Relations,    Committee    on, 


92,  98,  109;  reports  of  Kirk 
wood  as  chairman  of,  110-112 

Felt,   A.   J.,  letter  from,   329 

Ferries,    80 

Fessenden,  William  P.,  320 

Finch,  S.  M.,  partnership  with, 
439 

Finkbine,   R.   S.,  334,   382 

Financial  situation,    117 

First  Iowa  Regiment,  praise  of, 
204,  205,  218;  treatment  of,  by 
Governor,  216,  217 

Fisher,    Maturin    L.,    200 

Five  per  cent  fund,    111 

Flag  of  Second  Iowa,   228,   229 

Fleming's    Ravine,    30 

Flour    mill,    82 

Folsom    family,    85 

Foote,   J.    G.,    334 

Ford,    Thomas   H.,    28 

Foreign  Relations,  Committee  on, 
349 

Fort  Dodge,    83,    260 

Fort  Donelson,  celebration  of  cap 
ture  of,  227,  228;  charge  of 
Second  Iowa  at,  229 ;  reference 
to,  239,  241,  293,  296,  427; 
Tuttle's  charge  at,  242 

Fort   Madison,    142,    170 

Fort   Sumter,    179,    195,    257 

Franchises,    49,    70 

Franklin    County    (Ohio),    51 

Freedman's   Aid    Society,    302 

Fremont,  John  C.,  255 

Frontier,  protection  of,  191,  192, 
222,  257-261 

Fugitive  Slave  Law,   134,  275 

Funding  bill,   355 

Funeral,    387 

Garfield,  James  A.,  appointment 
of  Kirkwood  by,  359;  assassina 
tion  of,  366;  death  of,  368;  ref 
erence  to,  397 

Gatling,  William  J.,   410 

Gear,  John  H.,  330,  331,  334: 
withdrawal  of,  332,  333 

Geauga  County    (Ohio),   50 

General  Assembly,  remarks  con 
cerning  sessions  of,  53-56;  ref 
erence  to,  81,  182,  282,  289, 
328,  345;  service  of  Kirkwood 
in,  91-115;  control  of,  by  Re 
publicans,  103 :  receptions  giv 
en  by,  113,  114;  opposition  to 
inaugural  address  in,  152.  153  ; 
action  of,  concerning  Coppoc 
case,  159-162;  veto  messages  to, 
163;  extra  session  of,  in  1861, 
188-194:  service  of  Baker  in, 
212;  celebration  of  capture  of 
Fort  Donelson  by,  227,  228; 


454 


INDEX 


extra  session  of,  in  1862,  235- 
237 

Germans,    336 

Gillespie,   Mrs.  A.,  letter  to,    186 

Glenwood,  joint  debate  at,  137, 
138 

Governor,  veto  power  of,  56;  sal 
ary  of,  109;  first  campaign  of 
Kirkwood  for,  123-143;  election 
of  Kirkwood  as,  143,  205,  339; 
first  year  of  Kirkwood's  service 
as,  155-172;  prospects  of  Kirk 
wood  for  reelection  as,  178, 
179;  activities  of  Kirkwood  as, 
during  Civil  War,  181-300; 
need  for  military  staff  for,  192  ; 
contingent  fund  for,  194;  pro 
vision  for  staff  for,  194;  cam 
paign  of  Kirkwood  for,  in  1861, 
195-205;  proposal  for  extra  pay 
for.  218,  219;  relations  of,  with 
soldiers,  230-246;  abuse  of 
Kirkwood  as,  275,  276;  refusal 
of  Kirkwood  to  be  candidate 
for,  284,  285;  campaign  for,  in 
1863,  285-289;  comment  on 
Kirkwood's  service  as,  290,  291: 
personal  side  of  Kirkwood's  life 
as,  292-300;  Kirkwood  suggest 
ed  for,  326,  328-331:  nomina 
tion  for,  in  1875,  331,  334; 
campaign  for,  in  1875,  335- 
339:  third  term  as,  339,  340; 
resignation  as,  340;  effect  of 
election  as,  343  :  portrait  un 
veiled  in  office  of,  386 

Governor's    Greys,    176,    177 

Governors,  meeting  of,  at  Altoona, 
247-252 

Grand  jury  system,  objections  to, 
70,  71 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  227,  397:  let 
ter  to,  238;  defense  of,  by  Har- 
lan,  325 

Grant  Club,  organization  of,  318; 
speech  before,  319,  320 

Granville    (Ohio),    65 

Graves,  J.  K.,  money  advanced  by, 
185 

Graves,  T?.  E.,  money  advanced  by, 
185;  reference  to,  415 

Greek    Slave,    66 

Greeley.    Horace.    375.    376 

Groer,    Mrs.    A.    M.,    386 

Grimes,  James  W.,  election  of,  as 
Governor,  86:  early  relations 
between  Kirkwood  and.  100- 
105;  letter  from,  101,  102.  104. 
!(>:,.  127,  129,  144.  308.  309: 
reference  to.  123.  167,  187,  199. 
282,  283,  286,  303,  311.  408, 
412,  425.  437;  charge  of  bar 


gain  between  Kirkwood  and, 
129;  letter  to,  173,  174,  219, 
241,  242,  264,  297;  refusal  of 
Kirkwood  to  run  against,  283; 
vote  of,  in  impeachment  case, 
319;  strain  in  relations  between 
Kirkwood  and,  319-322;  death 
of,  321 

Grimes,  Mrs.  James  W.,  letter 
from,  321,  322 

Grinneil,    Josiah    B.,    91,    164,    324 

Grinnell,   299;   tornado   at,   372 

Grist  mill,   82 

Gue,    B.   F.,    108,   382 

Guerrillas,  raids  by,   191,  256,   257 

Guiteau.    Charles    J.,     366 

Guns,    character   of,    206,    207 

I  Tall   of   Fame,    statue   in,    445 

Halleck,  Henry  W.,  229,  242;  let 
ter  to,  294 

Ham's   Hall,    347 

Hamilton,    Schuyler,    229 

Hamilton.  W.  W.,  91,  124:  letter 
from,  123 

Hamilton   Freeman,    124 

Hamlin,    Hannibal,    349 

Hammond,    William    G.,    347 

Hampton,   Wade,    349 

Harbors,   48 

Harford  County  (Maryland),  1, 
8;  departure  of  Kirkwood  from, 
13 

Harlan,  Edgar  R.,  acknowledg 
ments  to,  xi 

Harlan,  James,  104,  105,  127, 
167,  178,  199,  335,  342,  437; 
support  of  Kirkwood  by,  129; 
letter  to,  187,  188:  appointment 
of,  to  Cabinet,  303;  desire  of, 
to  return  to  Senate,  308-310; 
election  of,  as  Senator,  310, 
311:  letter  from,  325;  cam 
paign  of,  against  Allison,  326: 
candidacy  of,  for  Senate,  345; 
withdrawal  of,  346 

Harper's    Ferry,    raid    on,    148-150 

Harrison.    E.    H.,    410 

Hart   family,    concert   by,    416 

Havre   de   Grace    (Maryland),    1 

Hav.    sale    of,    275,    27(5 

Hayes.  Walter  I..  375:  election 
of.  378:  votes  received  bv.  445 

Health    of    soldiers.    235.    237.    238 

Henderson,  David  B.,  letter  from. 
385 

Henderson.    James    P.,    52 

Hepburn,    William    P..    108 

Hiatt,   J.   M.,   letter  from,   276 

Hiirh    schools,    110 

Hildrcth.   A7.ro  I?.   F..  letter  to.  304 

Hill.   Benjamin   II..   speech  by,   354 


INDEX 


455 


Hillis,  D,   B.,  letter   to,    244 

Hinckley,   P.   E.,    324 

Hinsdale,   B.  A.,   359 

Hiram   College,    359 

Historical    Society   of   Iowa,    State, 

establishment    of,     98;     bill    for 

salary     for     secretary     of,     109, 

110;   president  of,    172;    flag  in 

possession    of,    229;    relics    for, 

246;   reference  to,   302 
Hitchcock,    Peter,    50 
Hoar,    George   F.,    349 
Hogs,   raising  of,    83,    84 
Holt,  Joseph,  letter  to,   197 
Home,   building  of,   301;   purchase 

of,    in   Washington,    367 
Home    guards,     192 ;    organization 

of,    256,    269,    430;    service    of, 

273 

Homestead   Bill,    150 
Homestead   legislation,    126 
Homesteads,      restriction      of,      in 

South,  312 
Horse  shows,   172 
Hospitals,  visits  to,  239 
House  of  Representatives    (Iowa), 

prominent  members  of,   108 
Housekeeping,    beginning  of,    37 
Hoxie,  H.  M.,   198,  422 
Hoxie,    Vinnie    Ream,    statue    by, 

445 

Hubbard,  Asahel  W.,  259,  308 
Hull,   Captain,   333 

Illinois,    133,   253 
Impeachment  trial,    319 
Inaugural     address,     contents     of, 

146-153,    224-226,    339,    340 
Independence,    142 
Indian  affairs,  policy  in  regard  to, 

356,    364-366 

Indian  agencies,  inspectors  of,  365 
Indiana.    14,    117,    133;    speeches 

in,    356,    357 
Indianapolis,      speeches     in,      356, 

357 

Tndianola,    314 

Indians,  danger  from,  33,  34, 
191;  right  of,  to  give  testi 
mony,  97;  depredations  by, 
163 ;  protection  of  frontier 
against.  257-261;  dealings  with, 
360,  361 

Ingersoll,   L.  D.,  letter  from,   307 
In.^ham,   S.   R.,  letter  to,   260 
Insane  Asylum,    147,    170,   416 
Inspectors  of  Indian  agencies,  365 
Internal  revenue  tax.    312 
Iowa,    removal    of    Kirkwoods    to, 
75-80;    route    to,    77,    78;    emi 
gration    to,    79,    80,    403 ;    finan 
cial    situation    in,    117;    attitude 


of  people  of,  toward  Union, 
177;  quota  of,  in  first  call  for 
troops,  180,  181;  response  of, 
at  beginning  of  war,  181-194] 
support  of  Federal  government 
by,  193 ;  response  of,  to  calls 
for  troops,  230-234;  protection 
of  borders  of,  253-261;  method 
of  dealing  with  disloyalty  in, 
262-278;  return  of  Kirkwoods 
to,  290;  office-seekers  from, 
362,  363 

Iowa  &  Southwestern  Construction 
Company,  324 

Iowa  &  Southwestern  Railroad 
Company,  president  of,  323-325 

Iowa  Citizen,  The,  151 

Iowa  City,  77,  100,  141,  273,  274, 
298,  334,  356,  408;  visit  of 
Kirkwoods  to,  77,  78 ;  arrival 
of  Kirkwoods  in,  80 ;  descrip 
tion  of,  81;  purchase  of  store 
in,  82 ;  friends  of  Kirkwoods 
in,  85 ;  Republican  State  Con 
vention  at,  87-89;  meeting  of 
legislature  at,  91;  branch  of 
State  Bank  at,  118,  119;  inter 
est  of  Kirkwood  in  community 
affairs  at,  120-122;  return  of 
Kirkwood  to,  163,  317;  speech 
es  in  vicinity  of,  167,  318; 
joint  debate  at,  169,  170; 
speech  at,  275,  314;  trip  to  Des 
Moines  from,  299;  building  of 
home  in,  301;  funeral  oration 
at,  303 ;  proposed  railroad 
through,  323-325 ;  reception  at, 
347,  348;  retired  life  of  Kirk 
wood  at,  379-387;  gathering  at, 
in  honor  of  Kirkwood,  381-386; 
funeral  at,  387;  population  of, 
403 

Iowa  City  Lecture  Association, 
121 

Iowa  City  Manufacturing  Com 
pany,  82 

Iowa  City  National  Bank,  322; 
president  of,  371 

Iowa  City  Republican,   330 

Iowa  City  Township,  90,  121; 
road  supervisor  of,  318 

Towa   County,    90,   374 

Iowa  Lake,  261 

Towa  River,   81 

Ireland.  1,  391 

Island   No.    10,    241 

Jackson,    Andrew,    7 
Jackson    County,    374 
Jasper   County,    97 
Jefferson.    Thomas,    145 
Jerome,    Mr.,    131 


456 


INDEX 


Jewett,   Annie,   386 

.Tewett,    Etta,    386 

Jewett,  J.  E.,  partnership  of 
Kirkwood  and,  301 

Jewett,   Mrs.   L.   C.,   386 

Johnson,  Andrew,  313;  impeach 
ment  of,  319 

Johnson  County,  87,  90,  302,  322, 
374,  426 

Johnson  County  Republican  Con 
vention,  90 

Joint  debates,  103,  169,  170;  ar 
rangement  for  series  of,  130, 
132,  134 

Jordan,  M.  C.,  letter  from,  343 

Jones,    George  Wallace,    101,    103 

Journal  of  Commerce,  210 

Journeys,   necessity   of  taking,   298 

Judicial  department,  committee  on, 
53;  views  of  Kirkwood  on,  61, 
62 

Justices  of  the  peace,   71 

Kansas,  emigration  to,  79 ;  strug 
gle  in,  86,  148;  resolution  rela 
tive  to  admission  of,  92-96;  ref 
erence  to,  155,  253 

Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  opposition 
of  Kirkwood  to,  76,  77,  85,  86; 
reference  to,  148,  402,  403 

Kasson,  John  A.,  letter  from,  133  ; 
reference  to,  283,  308 

Kasson,    Mrs.    John   A.,    309 

Keokuk,  167,  190,  203,  245,  258, 
259,  420;  rendezvous  at,  182; 
difficulty  over  company  from, 
184,  185:  troops  at,  186;  hos 
pital  at,  238 

Keokuk  County,  213,  271.  277: 
Tally  War  in,  270-275,  277, 
278,  286.  287 

Kirk,  E.  R.,  341,  342;  letter 
from,  345 

Kirkwood,    Coulson,    2,    391 

Kirkwood,    Daniel,    8 

Kirkwood,  Jabez,  land  given  to, 
2  ;  occupation  of,  3  ;  removal  of, 
to  Ohio,  11-18;  land  taken  by. 
20 

Kirkwood,  John,  3.  16,  85,  391; 
land  bought  by,  20 

Kirkwood,  Robert,  military  ser 
vice  of.  2:  reference  to,  391 

Kirkwood.    Robert,    2,    391 

Kirkwood.  Robert,  2,  391;  school 
taught  by,  6 

Kirkwood,  Samuel  J.,  career  of, 
ix:  sources  for  biography  of,  x; 
birth  of,  1 ;  ancestors  of,  1-3 : 
boyhood  of,  3-5 ;  school  days  of, 
in  Washington,  5-7;  employ 
ment  of,  as  drug  clerk,  7,  8,  9 : 


school  taught  by,  8,  23  ;  jour 
ney  of,  to  Ohio,  11-18;  first 
home  of,  in  Ohio,  19-21;  poem 
by,  23,  24,  392,  393;  service 
of,  as  deputy  assessor,  24,  25 ; 
employment  of,  in  tavern,  25 ; 
study  of  law  by,  25-31;  part 
nership  of,  with  Hartley,  32, 
33;  meeting  of  Jane  Clark  and, 
33-35;  first  legal  papers  drawn 
up  by,  35-37;  marriage  of,  37; 
early  married  life  of,  37,  38; 
early  law  practice  of,  39;  inter 
est  of,  in  politics,  39-41,  76, 
402,  403;  election  of,  as  prose 
cuting  attorney,  41;  Bowland 
murder  trial  conducted  by,  41- 
46;  service  of,  in  Ohio  consti 
tutional  convention,  47-74;  part 
nership  of,  with  Burns,  75 ; 
opposition  of,  to  Douglas's  bill, 
76,  77,  85,  86;  removal  of,  to 
Iowa,  77-80;  activities  of,  as 
miller  and  farmer,  81-89;  speech 
of,  in  Republican  State  Conven 
tion,  87-89;  election  of,  as  State 
Senator,  90,  91;  service  of,  in 
Sixth  General  Assembly,  91-99; 
service  of,  as  chairman  of  State 
central  committee,  100;  early 
friendship  between  Grimes  and, 
100-105;  campaign  trip  of 
Grimes  and,  102,  103;  service 
of,  in  Seventh  General  Assem 
bly,  105-115;  service  of,  as  di 
rector  of  State  Bank,  116-120: 
activity  of,  in  railroad  conven 
tion,  120,  121;  social  life  of. 
121:  nomination  of,  for  Gov 
ernor,  123-127;  campaign  of, 
against  Dodge,  127-143;  first 
election  of,  as  Governor,  143: 
first  inaugural  address  of,  144- 
154;  refusal  of,  to  return  Bar 
clay  Coppoc  to  Virginia,  155- 
159;  criticism  of,  on  account  of 
Coppoc  case,  159-162  ;  veto  mes 
sages  of,  103 :  activities  of,  at 
Chicago  convention,  164-166; 
service  of,  in  campaign  of  I860. 
Hi  7- 170:  controversy  between 
Le  Grand  Bvington  and,  167- 
170;  official  acts  of.  as  Gov 
ernor,  170-172;  attitude  of,  to 
ward  Southerners,  173-175;  first 
meeting  of  Lincoln  and.  177, 
178;  call  for  troops  received  by, 
180,  181;  raising  of  first  troops 
by,  181-194:  difficulties  of.  in 
securing  arms.  186-188,  206- 
209;  extra  session  called  by. 
188.  189.  235;  first  war  mes- 


INDEX 


457 


sage  of,  189-193 ;  campaign  of, 
for  Governor  in  1861,  195-205; 
Sherman  Hall  speech  of,  201- 
205;  second  election  of,  as  Gov 
ernor,  205;  activities  of,  during 
first  year  of  war,  206-219;  ef 
forts  of,  to  secure  sale  of  bonds, 
207-210;  appointments  of  secre 
taries  and  aids  by,  210-212; 
army  appointments  by,  212-215; 
proclamation  by,  215,  216,  217, 
218,  233,  235;  message  of,  in 
L862,  220-224;  second  inaugu 
ral  address  of,  224-227;  activ 
ities  of,  in  behalf  of  soldiers, 
230-246;  message  of,  at  extra 
session  of  1862,  235-237;  part 
of,  in  Altoona  Conference,  247- 
252 ;  activities  of,  in  protection 
of  borders  of  State,  253-261; 
difficulties  of,  on  account  of  dis 
loyalty  in  Iowa,  262-278;  mis 
sion  to  Denmark  offered  to,  279- 
283;  political  prospects  of,  in 
1863,  283-285;  activities  of,  in 
campaign  of  1863,  285-289; 
close  of  governorship  of,  289- 
291;  personal  life  of,  as  Gov 
ernor,  292-300;  law  practice  re 
sumed  by,  301,  322;  speeches 
by,  302,  303 ;  campaign  of,  for 
United  States  Senator,  303-310, 
341-347;  election  of,  as  United 
States  Senator,  3JO,  311,  347; 
career  of,  in  United  States  Sen 
ate,  311-317,  348-358;  strain  in 
relations  between  Grimes  and, 
319-322;  interest  of,  in  railroad 
project,  322-325;  mission  to 
Turkey  offered  to,  327;  political 
prospects  of,  in  1875,  328-331; 
nomination  of,  for  Governor  in 
1875,  331-335;  third  campaign 
of,  for  Governor,  335-339;  third 
election  of,  as  Governor,  339; 
third  inaugural  address  of,  339, 
340;  resignation  of,  340;  ser 
vice  of,  as  Secretary  of  Inte 
rior,  359-370;  attitude  of,  to 
ward  prohibition,  372;  trip  of, 
to  Pacific  coast,  372-374;  last 
candidacy  of,  for  office,  374- 
378:  closing  years  of  life  of, 
379-387:  gathering  in  honor  of, 
381-386:  unveiling  of  portrait 
of,  386:  death  of,  386,  387; 
brothers  of,  391;  opposition  of, 
to  slavery,  402  ;  invitation  to,  to 
speak  in  Ohio,  406;  influence 
of,  at  Chicago  convention,  417; 
votes  received  by,  422.  423; 
delinquent  taxes  of,  426 


Kirkwood,  Mrs.  Samuel  J.,  ac 
knowledgments  to,  xi;  church 
membership  of,  38;  friendship 
of  Mrs.  Barker  and,  43 ;  visit 
of,  to  Columbus,  62 ;  reference 
to,  65,  142,  162,  296,  297,  298, 
301,  314,  348,  367,  371,  380, 
385,  386,  387,  444;  visit  of  to 
Iowa  City,  77,  78;  relatives  of, 
in  Iowa,  78,  85;  children  cared 
for  by,  82,  83,  84;  activities  of 
302;  life  of,  in  Washington, 
356;  characterization  of,  369; 
trip  of,  to  Pacific  coast,  373- 
residence  of,  436 

Kirkwood,  Wallace,  3,  391;  drug 
store  of,  8 

Kirkwood,  W.  W.,  letter  from 
206;  sickness  of,  296,  297 

Kirkwood    (Delaware),   391 

Kirkwood   House,    311 

Knights   of   Labor,    374 

Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle,  264; 
number  of  members  of,  267: 
character  and  purposes  of,  267, 
268;  efforts  to  gain  information 
concerning,  268,  269 

Knox  County    (Ohio),   59 

Kossuth  County,   257 

Lake,    E.    W.,    27,    28,    85 

Lake,  Jed,  letter  to,   300 

Lake   Erie,    20,    34 

Lamar,    L.    Q.   C.,    349 

Land,    Indians'   title   to,    366 

Land  grants,   223 

Lane,   Ebenezer,   44,   45,   47,   396 

Lane,  Joe  R.,  445 

Lansing,    142 

Larrabee,    William,    334 

Larwill,    John,   52 

Lathrop,  Henry  W.,  book  by,  x, 
379;  reference  to,  382 

Latta,    William,    pardon   of,    171 

Law,  practice  of,  by  Kirkwood. 
32-46,  301,  322 

Law  reform,  attitude  of  Kirkwood 
toward,  70,  71 

Lee,  Robert  E.,  invasion  of  Mary 
land  by,  247 

Leffler,    Shepherd,    335,    339,    441 

Legal  procedure,    49 

Legislative  sessions,  remarks  of 
Kirkwood  concerning,  53-56 

Letcher,  Governor,  correspondence 
of,  with  Kirkwood,  157;  mes 
sage  of,  to  legislature,  158,  159 

Letters,  writing  of,  by  Kirkwood, 
244-246,  299,  300 

Lexington    (Ohio),    37 

Leyne,    Patrick,    7 

Liberty  Corners    (Ohio),    52 


458 


INDEX 


Lincoln,  Abraham,  138,  293,  303; 
efforts  of  Kirkwood  to  secure 
nomination  of,  165,  166,  -117; 
defense  of,  168;  congratulations 
to,  170;  first  meeting  of  Kirk- 
wood  and,  177,  178,  419;  in 
auguration  of,  179;  letter  to, 
230,  231,  241;  Emancipation 
Proclamation  by,  248,  250; 
conference  of  Governors  with, 
249-252;  conversation  between 
Kirkwood  and,  251,  252;  sup 
port  of,  by  Kirkwood,  294,  295; 
funeral  oration  for,  303 

Lindsley.    William    D.,    402 

Linn    County,    198 

Liquor,    sale   of,    70 

Literary  institutions,  taxation  of, 
69 

Live  stock,  transportation  of,  355, 
356 

Lodges,    membership    in,    38,    336 

Logan,    Senator,    359 

Londonderry    (Ireland),   1,   391 

Loughridge,  William,   91 

Lowe.  Ralph  P.,  efforts  of  Kirk 
wood  in  behalf  of,  102;  election 
of,  as  Governor,  103  ;  reference 
to.  123  ;  withdrawal  of,  as  can 
didate.  125,  126:  nomination 
of,  for  Supreme  Court  Judge, 
126 

Lucas,    Mrs.   Edward,    85 

Lyon's    Band,    347 

McClellan.  George  R.,  dissatisfac 
tion  with,  247-252,  293  ;  remov 
al  of.  293,  296 

McCrary,   George  W.,    108,   345 

McGregor.    142 

McKean,    Thomas,    425 

McLeod.  John,  school  of,  attended 
by  Kirkwood,  5-7:  reference  to, 
40 

McPherson,   M.   L.,   91.   98 

MacVeagh,   Wayne,    367 

Madison    Countv,    264 

Mahaska   County,   271 

Mahoney.  D.  A..  108:  arrest  of, 
264 

Manassas.    battle   of.    216 

Mancm.    TT.    S..    59 

Mansfield  (Ohio),  roads  to.  17: 
reference  to.  20.  360,  393.  395, 
406;  description  of.  25-27; 
members  of  bar  of.  28,  29;  so 
cial  life  in.  30,  37,  38:  law 
practice  of  Kirkwood  in,  32-46; 
position  of  Kirkwood  in,  76; 
removal  of  Kirkwoods  from,  77- 
79;  banquet  to  Kirkwood  at, 
79;  people  from,  in  Iowa,  85 


Manufacturing,    promotion    of,    120- 

Maquoketa,     141 

Marengo,    142,    167,    408 

Marion,    408 

Marshalltown,    83,     142 

Maryland,  boyhood  of  Kirkwood 
in,  1-10;  reference  to,  15;  in 
vasion  of,  247 

Mason,    Charles,    200 

Masonic  Lodge,  membership  in, 
336 

Massachusetts,    171,    315,    316,  364 

Mechanics'    lien,     109 

Medical    aid.    need   of,    219,    223 

Medill.    William.    52 

Merrill,  Samuel,  letter  to,  208, 
209;  letter  from,  318,  319 

Mi-rritt.   William    IL,    200 

Message  to  legislature,  contents  of, 
189-193,  220-224,  235-237,  289 

Methodist  Church,  Mrs.  Kirkwood 
a  member  of,  38 

Metropolitan    Bank.     208 

Mexico,    Minister    to.     39 

Military  affairs,  management  of, 
230-246 

Military  companies,  offer  of  ser 
vices  of.  176,  177 

Military  duty,  excuse  from,  58, 
399 

Military    professorship.    223 

Military  secretary,  selection  of, 
210  ' 

Military   training,   lack   of,    181 

Militia.  58;  need  for  organization 
of.  175.  176 

Militia  law.  need  of.  192;  revision 
of.  194:  reference  to,  223 

Mill,  history  of.  82 ;  patronage  of, 
83;  interest  in  affairs  of,  162; 
reference  to,  301  ;  profit  of,  404 

Miller,    Daniel    F.,    179 

Miller.    Dave.    360 

Miller,    Joaquin,    364 

Miller,  Samuel  F.,  197,  422;  let 
ter  to,  208 

Miller,   Valentine,   letter   from.    162 

Miller,  work  of  Kirkwood  as,  81- 
85 

Minister  to  Denmark,  appointment 
of  Kirkwood  as.  279-283 

Minister  to  Turkev,  offer  of  ap- 
nointment  as.  327 

Minnesota.  Indian  depredations  in, 
259 

Minute  men,  plan  for  raising  of, 
192 

Mississippi  &  Missouri  River  Rail 
road.  403 

Mississippi  River.  14.  79.  121, 
132:  improvement  of  navigation 
of.  314,  315 


INDEX 


459 


Mississippi  Valley,  plan  to  remove 
capital  to,  319 

Missouri,  emigration  to,  79 ;  dan 
ger  of  raids  from,  191;  defense 
against  attack  from,  198,  253- 
257;  refugees  from,  in  Iowa, 
266,  267 

Missouri  Compromise,   77 

Missouri    River,    257,    323 

Mitchell,   Robert  B.,  petition  of,  59 

Mitchell,    M.   H.,    59 

Mob,  method  of  dealing  with,  286, 
287 

Mohican  Creek,   19 

Money,  offer  of,  at  beginning  of 
war,  185,  186;  difficulty  in 
raising,  207-210;  use  of,  in 
campaign,  344,  345 

Monongahela   River,    15 

Monroe,    James,    6 

Monroe  County,  coal  mine  in,  325 

Montezuma,    408 

Moore's  Opera  House,   331 

Moot   court,    29,    397 

Mormon  Trail,    137 

Morrill,    Justin    S.,    349 

Mortgages,    taxation    of,    69 

Morton,    Oliver    P.,    349 

Mt.   Pleasant,    170,    274,    309,   408 

Mt.   Pleasant   Guards,    176 

Mt.    Vernon     (Ohio),    17 

Murder  trial,  conduct  of,  by  Kirk- 
wood,  43-46 

Murdock,  Samuel,  letter  from,  384, 
385 

Murphy,    J.    W.,    339 

Muscatine,  78,  141,  274,  322, 
376;  speech  by  Kirkwood  at, 
132,  133 

Muscatine   County,    374 

National    banks,    411 

National  Road,  journey  over,  13- 
16 

Naturalization    law,    126 

Neal,  J.  E.,  91,   96,  97,   160 

Nebraska,    admission    of,    314-316 

Needham,   John  R.,   422 

Negroes,  right  of,  to  give  testi 
mony,  97;  colonization  of,  145, 
150;  use  of,  as  soldiers,  294; 
objection  to  counting  of,  311 

New  Castle    (Delaware).   1 

New  Castle  County  (Delaware), 
391 

New  Hampshire,   212 

New   Mexico,    95 

New    Philadelphia    (Ohio).    17 

New  Ulm  (Minnesota),  massacre 
at,  259 

New  York  Citv,  42,  208;  resist 
ance  to  draft  in,  286 


New   York  Tribune,   152,   209 
Newark    (Ohio),    17,    65 
Newbold,   Joshua   G.,    340,    343 
Newman,    Joseph,    29 
Newton,    141,  408;   speech  at,   314 
Newville    (Ohio),    21,    25,    52 
Niagara   ship   canal,    312 
Nicaragua,  expedition  to,   148,  149 
Ninth     General     Assembly,     recom 
mendations   to,    220-226 
Noble,    Reuben,     199,    422 ;    letter 

from,    316 
North,    compromise  between    South 

and,    175;   despondency  in,   227. 

247 

North   Bend,    302 
Northeastern    Iowa,    campaign    in, 

286 
Northern     Iowa     Border     Brigade, 

261 
Northern     Pacific     Railroad,     373, 

444 
Northwestern     frontier,     protection 

of,    257-261 
Nourse,    C.    C.,    127;    letter    from, 

308 
Nurses,    need    of,    223 

Oakland   Cemetery,    387 

O'Connor,    Henry,    100,    408 

Odd  Fellows  Lodge,  membership 
in,  38,  336 

Office,  location  of,   170 

Office-seekers,  experience  with, 
362,  363 

Officers,  election  of,  71;  salaries 
of,  109;  appointment  of,  in 
army,  212-215 

Ohio,  removal  of  Kirkwoods  to, 
11-18;  reference  to,  14,  117, 
121,  133,  165,  301,  406;  early 
life  of  Kirkwood  in,  19-31;  need 
of  new  Constitution  in,  47-49; 
service  of  Kirkwood  in  consti 
tutional  convention  of.  47-74; 
departure  of  Kirkwoods  from, 
78,  79 

Ohio    River,    17,    79 

Ohio   Valley,    route   to,    13 

Old   Brick   Capitol,    108,    114 

Old  Stone  Capitol,  81,  91,  98,99; 
convention  in,  87 

O'Meara,  T.  J.,  374;  votes  re 
ceived  bv,  445 

Oregon,   trip  to,   373 

Oskaloosa,  joint  debate  at,  134, 
135;  reference  to,  324,  408 

Pacific  coast,   trip  to,   373 
Pacific   Railroad,    312 
Pacific   Railroad   Bill,    150 
Palmer,  Frank  W.,   227 


460 


INDEX 


Paper  money,    72,    73 

Paris,    Grimes    in,    321 

Park   House,    137 

Parker,    Jacob,    29 

Parole,    breaking  of,    240 

Partisanship,  52,  352  ;  remarks 
concerning,  57;  objection  of 
Kirkwood  to,  97;  disappearance 
of,  189;  revival  of,  195 

Pattee,  John,  service  of,  as  pri 
vate  secretary,  211 

Peace  conference,  attitude  toward, 
174,  175 

Peace   Democrats,    200 

Peacock,    Lieutenant,    243 

Penitentiary,    71,    147,    170,   223 

Pennsylvania,    1,    14,    15,    19,    156 

Pensions,   attitude  toward,   355 

Pensions,    Committee    on,    349 

People's   Charter,   poem  on,    23 

Perczel,    Nicholas,    241 

Perkins,    George    D.,    342 

Peterson.    261 

Petit   larceny,    70 

Philadelphia,    337,    441 

Pierce,    Franklin,    95 

Plough-handle  Ticket,    133 

Plow,   letter  concerning,    172 

Plymouth    (Ohio),    41,    46 

Poem,  writing  of,  by  Kirkwood, 
23,  24,  392,  393 

Politics,  interest  of  Kirkwood  in, 
39-41,  76,  77,  85,  86,  279-281, 
302,  303 ;  last  participation  in, 
371-378 

Polk,    James   K.,    395 

Polls,  use  of  army  to  keep  peace 
at,  350-355 

Polygamy,    94,    95 

Porter,    Kimball,    119 

Portrait,    unveiling   of,    386 

Post  Offices  and  Post  Roads,  Com 
mittee  on,  349 

Potomac  River,   13,   14,   15 

Powell.    John,    119 

Poweshiek   County,    271 

Presbyterian    Church,    5,    38 

President,  preference  of  Kirkwood 
for,  165;  call  of,  for  troops. 
179,  180:  plan  for  address  to, 
248;  conference  of  Governors 
with,  249-252  ;  power  of,  to  use 
army,  350-355  (see  also  Lin 
coln,  Abraham) 

Price.  Eliphalet,  letter  from,  198. 
199,  290,  291;  statement  by, 
387 

Price,  Hiram,  100,  302,  345,  346, 
410;  money  advanced  by,  185, 
203;  appointment  of,  363;  let 
ter  from,  377,  380 

Price,   Mrs.   Hiram,   367 


Printing,    53 

Prisoners,    exchange    of,    239-241 
Pritchard,    Mrs.    Rachel,    386 
Private    property,     taking    of,     for 

public    use,    56 
Private     secretary,     provision     for, 

194;   choice  of,   211 
Privileges  and  elections,  committee 

on,    53 
Proclamation,    171,    182,    183,    188, 

189,   215-218,    233,    235 
Prohibition,    views    of   Weaver    on, 

331;    attitude    of    Kirkwood    to 
ward,    337,    338,    372 
Promotions,    efforts   to   secure,  241- 

243 
Prosecuting    Attorney,    election    as, 

41;   service  as,   41-46,   47 
Public     Buildings,     Committee    on, 

92,    109 
Public     improvements,     State    debt 

to    aid    in,    48 
Pusey,   W.   H.  M.,    108,    115,  382 

Quilting  bees,    38 

Railroad,    inspection   of,    373 

Railroad  company,  president  of, 
323-325 

Railroad  convention,  attendance  of 
Kirkwood  at,  120,  121,  322 

Railroad   stock,    336 

Railroads,  48,  77,  339;  use  of,  by 
emigrants,  79 ;  opposition  to 
State  aid  to,  120,  121 

Railroads,    Committee    on,    92 

Randall.  Alexander  W.,  proposal 
by.  218.  219 

Rankin.   John   W.,    102,    108,   214 

Ransom.    C.   T.,    119 

Reading,  taste  of  Kirkwood  for, 
121,  122 

Real    estate,    taxation    of,    69 

Receptions,     113,     114 

Reconstruction,  attitude  of  Kirk 
wood  on,  313 

Redstone,    Old   Fort,    15 

Reed,   Joseph   R.,    372 

Regiments,  raising  of,  182-185, 
216-218:  difficulty  in  filling  va 
cancies  in  old.  232-234,  236 
(see  also  Troops) 

Registration    of    voters.    146.    147 

Remonetization   of   silver.    355 

Representative,  campaign  for,  374- 
378 

Representatives,  election  of,  350, 
351 

Republican  National  Convention, 
part  played  by  Kirkwood  at, 
164-166 

Republican    party,    early    activities 


INDEX 


461 


of  Kirkwood  in  behalf  of,  89, 
90;  victory  of,  103;  letter  de 
fending  policies  of,  168,  169; 
praise  of,  356,  357 

Republican  State  Convention,  at 
tendance  of  Kirkwood  at  first, 
87-89;  nomination  of  Kirkwood 
by,  125-127,  197,  198,  331- 
334;  nomination  of  Stone  by, 
285;  reference  to,  305 

Requisition  for  Barclay  Coppoc, 
155-162 

Reservations,    366 

Resumption,    355 

Revenue,  recommendations  con 
cerning,  220,  221,  222 

Revenue   laws,    147 

Revolutionary   War,    2 

Riblet,    Daniel,    360 

Rice,    S.   A.,    197,    422 

Rich,  Jacob,  letter  from,  303,  307, 
309,  319,  320,  321,  329,  341, 
342,  344,  347,  360,  385;  ref 
erence  to,  326,  341,  359;  letter 
to,  362 

Richardson,    R.    A.,    108 

Richland  County  (Ohio),  arrival 
of  Kirkwood  family  in,  17;  de 
scription  of,  19,  20;  early  life 
of  Kirkwood  in,  19-31;  refer 
ence  to,  33,  52,  360,  393;  ser 
vice  of  Kirkwood  as  prosecuting 
attorney  of,  41-46,  47;  people 
from,  in  Iowa,  85 

Road   supervisor,    election    as,    318 

Robinson,    Captain.    237 

Robinson,    Gifford   S.,    382 

Rock   Island    (Illinois),    78 

Rolla    (Missouri),    237 

Root,   J.    C.,   letter  from,    375 

Rothrock,    James   H.,    382 

Rusch,  Nicholas  J.,  91;  letter 
from,  124;  nomination  of,  126 

Russell,    Edward,    375 

Russell,  John.  331,  382;  with 
drawal  of.  332 

Russell,    Nicholas,    237 

St.   Clair,   Arthur,   2 

St.  James  Hotel,  347,   381 

St.     Louis,     206,     228,     229,     239, 

240,    297:    convention    at,    319 
St.  Paul,   444 

Salaries,    bill   relative   to,    109 
Samuels,   Ben   M.,    102,    103,   408 
Sanders,  J.  H..  letter  from,  272 
Sandusky    (Ohio),    44,    400 
San    Francisco.    444 
Sanxav,    Theodore.    119 
Saunders,    Addison    H.,    211 
Saunders.     Alvin.     91.     166,     417; 

letter    from,    178,    179 


Saverv   Hotel,    309 

Saw   mill,    82 

Sawyer,    William,    52 

Schaeffer,    Charles    A.,    382 

School,  attendance  of  Kirkwood  at, 
5-7;  teaching  of,  by  Kirkwood, 
8,  22,  23 

School   director,    election    as,    121 

School  funds,  security  of,  96;  ref 
erence  to,  110,  147;  protection 
of,  223 

School  lands,   96 

Schools  and  State  University, 
Committee  on,  109 

Schurz,    Carl,    325,    361 

Scientific  institutions,  taxation  of, 
69 

Scotch-Irish    Presbyterians,    19 

Scotland.    391 

Scott   County,    324,    374 

Scott  vs.  Sanford,  resolution  rela 
tive  to  case  of,  111,  112 

Secession,  attitude  of  Kirkwood 
toward,  173-177 

Second  Iowa  Regiment,  episode  in 
history  of,  228,  229 

Secret  societies,  attitude  toward, 
336 

Secretary  of  the  Interior,  letter  to, 
171;  appointment  as,  359;  ser 
vice  as,  359-370 

Secretary  of  War,  letter  to,  187, 
231,  258.  259  (see  also  Cam 
eron  and  Stanton) 

Sectionalism,   352 

Seevers.    William   H.,    108 

Sells,   Elijah,    197,   422 

Senate,  State,  members  of.  91,  108 

Senator,  State,  nomination  and 
election  of  Kirkwood  as,  90,  91; 
service  of  Kirkwood  as,  91- 
115;  defeat  of  Kirkwood  for, 
326 

Senator,  United  States,  talk  of 
Kirkwood  as  candidate  for,  101, 
104,  282.  283,  290;  campaign 
for,  303-310,  341-347;  election 
as.  310,  311,  347;  career  as, 
311-317,  348-358;  desire  of 
Kirkwood  to  become,  328-330 

Settlers,  danger  to,  from  Indians, 
259.  260 

Seventh  General  Assemblv,  service 
of  Kirkwood  in.  107-115 

Seward.  William  H.,  attitude  of 
Kirkwood  toward,  165:  corre- 
snondence  with.  280,  281 

Sewing  machine,   419 

Shambaugh,  Benj.  F.,  editor's  in 
troduction  by,  vii ;  acknowledg 
ments  to.  xi 

Shannon,  Wilson,    39 


4()L> 


INDEX 


Shaw,    A.    T.,    letter   from,    179 

Shelledy,    Stephen    B.,    108 

Shepherd,    K.,    119 

Sherman,  Buren  R.,  371,  381,  382 

Sherman,    Charles   T.,    29 

Sherman,    Iloyt,    410 

Sherman,  John,  early  association 
of  Kirkwood  and,  29;  contests 
between  Kirkwood  and,  47; 
reference  to,  395,  402 

Sherman  Hall,  speech  in,  200-205 
210 

Shiloh,    battle   of,    239,    241 

Sickness,    300 

Sigourney,  139,  314,  323,  408; 
Kirkwood  at,  273,  274;  plan  to 
assassinate  Kirkwood  at,  277, 
278 

Silver,   remonetization   of,    355 

Sinking  fund,  remarks  concern- 
in  p.  60,  61;  plan  for,  399 

Sioux  City,  joint  debate  at,  138, 
139;  reference  to,  258,  261 

Sionx  Indians,  depredations  bv, 
259 

Sixth  General  Assembly,  character 
of.  91.  92 

Skunk   River  War,    274 

Slagle.    Christian   W.,    410 

Slaughter    houses,    66 

Slavery,  opposition  of  Kirkwood 
to.  76.  86.  95,  173.  174,  402: 
attitude  of  people  of  Iowa  to 
ward,  87;  resolution  relative  to, 
111,  112;  reference  to,  126. 
145,  148.  169,  293:  attitude  of 
Kirkwood  toward  continuance 
of.  224,  225;  relation  of  war  to, 
295 

Smith,  William  T.,  money  ad 
vanced  by,  186;  reference  to, 
382 

Smithfield     (Pennsvlvania ),    15 

Smvthe,    Robert.    331,    333 

Sociables.    38 

Social  life,  character  of,  at  Mans 
field.  30,  37,  38;  character  of, 
in  Columbus.  62,  63  ;  partici 
pation  of  Kirkwood  in,  121, 
1  22 

Soldiers,  pay  of.  194;  relations  of 
Kirkwood  with,  230-246;  right 
of,  to  vote,  236,  237:  popular- 
itv  of,  as  candidates,  285 ;  use 
of  negroes  as,  294 :  visits  to. 
298;  addresses  at  reunions  of. 
379 

Soldiers'   Orphans'   Home.    302 
Somerfield    (Pennsylvania),    15 
Sound    monev,    importance    of,    357 
South,    mistake   of   people    of.    119: 
compromise  between    North    and. 


175:  sympathizers  with,  in 
Iowa,  262-278;  restriction  of 
homesteads  in,  312;  attitude  to 
ward  people  of,  352,  353 

South    America,     145,    150 

South    Carolina,    secession    of,    173 

South  English,  disturbance  at, 
270,  271 

Southern  border,  protection  of, 
253-257 

Spain,    Minister    to,     128 

Special    messages,    163 

Specie  payments,  resumption  of, 
355 

Spirit   Lake   Massacre,    191.   257 

Springdale,  John  Brown  at,  155; 
reference  to,  159 

Springer,  John,   382,   445 

Springfield  (Illinois),  visit  of 
Kirkwood  to,  177:  reference  to, 
188 

Stage    coach.    105 

Stage    line,    78 

Stanberry,    Henrv.    51 

Stanton,  Edwin  M..  letter  to,  231, 
232,  233,  238,  240,  241,  265. 
266.  269.  428 

State  Rank  of  Iowa,  part  of  Kirk 
wood  in  law  creating.  110;  ser 
vice  of  Kirkw-.iod  as  director  of, 
116-120:  reference  to,  410.  411 

State  Central  Committee,  work  as 
chairman  of,  100.  116 

State  debt,  lack  of  limitation  on. 
48:  amount  of,  in  Ohio,  48; 
need  for  limit  on,  58:  plan  for 
payment  of.  60.  61,  399 

State  Fair,   address   at.    372 

States,  relation  of.  to  Federal  gov 
ernment.  150;  use  of  United 
States  army  in.  350-355 

Statutes,    revision    of,    54 

Stewart,    James.    29 

Stewart.    John.    360 

Stockton.    L.    D..    170 

Stone.    George   A..    297 

Stone,   J.    C.,    letter   from.    355 

Stone,    John    V.,    334 

Stone,  William  M.,  service  of 
Kirkwood  in  campaign  of,  285- 
289:  letter  from.  288,  289:  in 
auguration  of.  290:  reference 
to.  302,  308:  question  of  ap 
pointment  by,  303-306 

Store,  purchase  of,  82:  sale  of. 
120 :  keening  of.  404 

Sturges.    Solomon,    offe'-    of.    -423 

Sunnier.  Charles,  conflict  between 
Kirkwood  :md.  315.  316:  refer 
ence  to.  325 

Sii-  ..rintendent  of  Public  Instruc 
tion.  96 


INDEX 


463 


Supervisors,   county,    192 
Supplies,    appeal   for,    235 
Surgeons,    need   of,    219,    223 
Susquehanna  River,    1 

Tacoma  (Washington),  speech  at, 
373,  374;  reference  to,  444 

Tally,  George  C.,  Copperheads  led 
by,  270;  death  of,  271 

Tally  War,  incidents  of,  270-275, 
277,  278 

Tariff,  views  on,   314,   315 

Tariff   commission.    355,    371 

Tavern,  employment  of  Kirkwood 
in,  25 

Tax  titles,   221,   336 

Taxation,  49,  53  ;  exemption  from, 
58;  views  of  Kirkwood  concern 
ing,  68,  69;  recommendations 
concerning,  220,  221,  222 

Taxes,  levy  of,  53,  54,  68;  diffi 
culty  in  payment  of,  147,  148 ; 
appeal  for  prompt  payment  of, 
215;  amount  of,  delinquent, 
220,  221;  penalty  for  non-pay 
ment  of,  221;  apportionment  of, 
222 ;  voting  of,  for  railroad, 
323,  324 

Taylor,    Zachary,    397 

Teale,   Fred  A.,   346 

Teesdale,  John,  statement  by,  127, 
130,  132 

Teller,  Henry  M.,  349:  appoint 
ment  of,  369:  letter  from.  371, 
373 

Temperance  question,  attitude  to 
ward,  337,  338 

Templin,  J.  D.,  campaign  between 
Kirkwood  and,  90,  91 

Territories,    slavery   in,    173,    174 

Test,  James  D.,   98 

Testimony,    giving  of,    97 

Teter,    I.    P.,    334 

Thanksgiving  Day  proclamation. 
171 

Thompson,  William  G.,  letter  to, 
284:  reference  to,  382;  re 
marks  by.  384 

Thompson,   W.    H.,   212 

Thurman,  Allen  G..   349 

Tichenor,  George  C.,  letter  from, 
316,  317 

Tipton,    141.    408 

Todhunter,  Lewis,  Kirkwood  nom 
inated  by,  126 

Toledo.    142,    408 

Toll,    Charles    H.,    324 

Transportation    facilities,    48 

Trent    affair,    228 

Trimble.  H.  H..  91:  amendment 
by,  95;  statement  bv.  115 

Troops,  call  for,   179,   180;  raising 


of,  182-185,  215,  218,  222,  230- 
234,  260,  261,  428;  difficulty 
in  securing  arms  for,  186-188, 
206-209;  expenses  of  raising 
first,  190,  191,  202,  203;  meth 
od  of  calling  for,  217;  praise 
of,  289 

Trurabull,    Lyman,    321 

Trumbull,   General,   332 

Trustees  of  State  University, 
Board  of,  96;  Kirkwood  a  mem 
ber  of,  99 

Tufts,  J.  Q.,   334 

Turkey,  visitor  from,  70;  offer  of 
mission  to,  327 

Tuttle,   James  M.,    242,   285,   288 

Udell,   Nathan,  letter  to,  268 

Uniforms,   making  of,    186 

Union,     need    of    preservation    of, 

174,    175,    176;    fear   for   safety 

of,  247  ;   loyalty  of  Kirkwood  to, 

292,    295,    296 

Union   Pacific  Railroad,   444 
Union  party,   formation  of,    199 
Uniontown   (Pennsylvania),   15 
University     funds,     protection     of, 

223 
University  of  Iowa,   State,  81,   98, 

99,    147;    proposed    location    of, 

97;      appropriation      for,      109; 

military   professorship   at,    223 
Utah,    95 
Ute  Indians,   council  with,  304 

Vance,    Joseph,    50 

Vandever,    William,    180,    181 

Vegetables,    appeal    for,    235 

Veto   messages,    163 

Veto  power,   56 

Vice  President,  Kirkwood  suggest 
ed  for,  164 

Vicksburg,    239,    300 

Vinton,    142,    408 

Yinton   Eagle,    124 

Virginia,  requisition  for  Coppoc 
from  Governor  of,  155-162: 
peace  conference  called  by,  174 

Volunteers,  compensation  of,  191: 
plan  for  raising  of,  191,  192: 
support  of  families  of,  192. 
194;  expenses  of  raising  first, 
202,  203  (see  also  Troops) 

Wallace,    Mrs.,    marriage    of   Jabez 

Kirkwood  and,   3 
Wapello,    141,    408 
Wapello    County,    271 
War,   attitude  of  Kirkwood  toward 

conduct  of.  188.  247,  293-296 
War  and  Defense  Fund.  194,  207 
War  Democrats,  200 


464 


INDEX 


War  of   1812,    34 

Warrants,   amount  of,  unpaid,   221 

Warren,  Fitz  Henry,  129,  197, 
284,  308,  422 

Washburne,  Governor,  letter  to, 
427 

Washington,    George,    150 

Washington,  D.  C.,  1,  13,  40,  174, 
177,  187,  209,  226,  247,  298; 
school  days  of  Kirkwood  in,  5- 
7:  Kirkwood  as  drug  clerk  in, 
7-9;  trip  to,  179;  conference  of 
Governors  at,  249-252 ;  resi 
dence  of  Kirkwood  in,  311,  314, 
349;  life  of  Kirkwoods  in,  356, 
368,  369;  purchase  of  home  in, 
367;  statue  of  Kirkwood  in, 
445 

Washington  (Iowa),  joint  debate 
at,  139-141;  reference  to,  274, 
314,  408 

Washington    County    (Iowa),    272 

Washington  County  (Pennsylva 
nia),  15 

Washington    Light    Guards,    176 

Waterloo,    142 

Waukon,    142 

Weaver,  James  B.,  136,  333,  335, 
376;  prospects  of,  for  Governor, 
330,  331:  defeat  of,  for  nomi 
nation,  331-335 

Weed,    Chester,    119 

West,  removal  of  Kirkwoods  to, 
11-18;  financial  depression  in, 
117:  influence  of,  373,  374 

West  Union,    103 ;    speech   at,    435 

West   Virginia,    15 

Western   Stage  Company,    105 

Wheat,   marketing  of,    20 

Wheeler  &  Wilson  sewing  ma 
chine,  419 

Wheeling  (West  Virginia),  14, 
16,  17 


Whig    party,    168 

White,   Abe,    138 

Wide  Awakes,    167 

Wild  cat  banks,    117 

Williamsburg,    speech    at,    167 

Williams   College,   366 

Williamson,    James   A.,    382 

Wilmot    Proviso,    28 

Wilson,   David  S.,    108 

Wilson,  James  F.,  108;  letter 
from,  124;  resolution  by,  159, 
160 

Wilson,  Jonathan,  conveyance  pro 
vided  by,  139 

Wilson,  William  Duane,  letter 
from,  171,  172;  letter  to,  284, 
287 

Wilson's  Creek,  battle  of,  204,  216 

Withrow,  Thomas  F.,  letter  to,  285 

Woman   suffrage,    attitude   on,    336 

Women,  service  of,  at  outbreak  of 
war,  186,  187;  work  of,  in 
fields,  231:  enumeration  of,  311 

Wood,   Bradford   R.,    434 

Woodbury   County,   83,    163 

Woodin,    George   D.,    100 

Woolson,   John   S.,   346 

Wooster    (Ohio),    17 

Wright,    Ed.,    334,    335 

Wright,  George  G.  123,  146,  170, 
326.  328,  334,  341,  382:  re 
marks  by,  382-384:  career  of, 
418 

Yates,    Governor,    177 

Yewell,     George     II.,     portrait    by, 

386 

York    County    (Pennsylvania),    8 
Youghiogheny    River,    15 
Young    Men's    Mercantile    Library 

Association,     67 

Zanesville    (Ohio),    17 


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T  r»  91  A    c;n«,  A  '*o                                        General  Library 
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